To tip or not to tip? It can be confusing for customers
Emily Post says a 15-to-20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant
Emily Post says a 15-to-20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant
Emily Post says a 15-to-20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant
To tip or not to tip? It's a question that is not so easy to answer these days.
From high-end dining to DoorDash, there is more pressure than ever to leave a little something extra when you pay.
"Tipping should be predicated on the type of service you get," said TrueMan McGee, who owns Funky Fresh Bowls in Milwaukee.
He tells his staff that tips don't come easy.
"I always tell my people we'll get more tips with interaction before transaction. Interaction before transaction is the way to go," McGee said. "I think tipping is something everybody should participate in because these people are out here hustling to make money."
A recent Forbes study on tipping found 95% of people tip at least sometimes. But almost 60% of those surveyed said they feel pressured or overwhelmed when tipping.
And now, with automation coupled with a pandemic hangover, people may have reached a tipping point.
Alex Milovic teaches marketing and consumer behavior at Marquette University's business school. He said the growing popularity of mobile payment means businesses can — and will — ask for more tips.
"What we're seeing though is tip creep – the idea that it's showing up everywhere, and it will be hard to change the culture. It creates this doubt in the customer's mind at the wrong time," said Milovic. "When they're designing the programs to take the credit card entry, those will have tip by default. So now you're sitting there, you've completed the transaction, and it's a question of do you tip or not? You have the person right in front of you."
Longtime etiquette and manners expert Emily Post says a 15% to 20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant. Tipping on takeout, she said, is not always necessary.
Milovic said the creeping tip trend is likely here to stay.
"You are paying for the product, and now you're presented with this challenge, moral dilemma. It's almost maybe not fair to prompt that on you last minute, although that could be the strategy so it forces the customer to make a decision they might not otherwise do," Milovic said. "If all you did was move something from point A to point B, you didn't prepare anything, wasn't part of customer experience, then maybe not tip, but it really is what you're comfortable with."
And from a business standpoint, a little can still go a long way.
"It's real helpful to tip, especially small businesses because we have so many costs a lot of people don't see," McGee said.
According to a Forbes tipping survey, tipping behavior is different for each generation.
More than 60% of people aged 59 and older were the most likely to say they always tip. On the other hand, only 33% of people aged 27-42 reported they always tipped. The average tip is 16% of the bill.