The Tipping Divide Study Finds Differences in Tips by Black, White Restaurant Patrons by Juan Williams Morning Edition, July 11, 2003 · A new study finds many waiters and waitresses feel that black Americans generally tip less than restaurant diners who are white. The study, by a researcher at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, found that blacks tip on average 20 percent less than whites. In addition, restaurant workers of all races dislike waiting on black people because they assume the tips will be less no matter how good the service. NPR's Juan Williams reports. The study found that 63 percent of blacks and 30 percent of whites didn't understand that the standard restaurant tip in the United States is 15 to 20 percent. The difference between how blacks and whites view tipping has serious ramifications for restaurants, including lawsuits and lost profits, Williams reports. "The average tip from a black customer is about 13 percent of the bill. The average tip from a white customer is about 16.5 percent of the bill," says Dr. Michael Lynn, the study's author. In some cases the difference in tipping may be the result of poor service, but blacks interviewed in one of Lynn's studies rated the service slightly higher yet still tipped less than whites, he says. Jerry Fernandez, president of the Multicultural Food Alliance, which represents food servers and restaurateurs, says the expectations of a lower tip from blacks can often lead to poor service. "If a [waiter] says, 'I don't want to wait on that table because they're black or they're Hispanic, then they tend to give less service and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy," Fernandez explains. He says cultural elements -- blacks have avoided sit-down restaurants in favor of take out or self-service eateries -- institutionalized racism that exists in the restaurant industry and education about tipping are all behind the discrepancy. "How do people learn about tipping? If you don't go, you don't know." Lynn suggests that the American restaurant industry begin a campaign to inform people about the basics of leaving a tip. He urges the use of advertisements, educational pamphlets, and even putting tipping information on menus. And Lynn suggests that restaurants could introduce a game in which dining parties would have to tip at least 15 percent in order to be eligible to win a contest. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1329241 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I saw a discussion elsewhere, and I admit that I was completely oblivious to this. I usually tip 20% just because the people earning the waitstaff wages will most certainly spend the money as they receive it.
This isn't really anything new and it has been discussed multiple times on this board alone. What a waste of a study.
I was eating at Macaroni Grill last night and our waiter forgot to bring my glass of wine out and I had to remind him. He made up for it by leaving the bottle. I left him a nice tip. Little did I know then it was only because I'm white.
I overtip as well, and I admit it's partly gulit or insecurity about our whole "reputation." I'm always only a party of one, which means a smaller tip to begin with; and I generally go to the same 3 or 4 places which means they'll eventually recognize me, so I figure I should just go ahead and tip $15 and $20 which usually translates to 25% or 33%.
I tip 15-20 but I personally think tipping is stupid unless you get great service. Just charge a service fee or raise prices and be done with it. I rather go to place where I can get my own food. I can't stand waiting for my drink to be refilled.
I couldnt agree more - this is how it works in Australia. Its such a negative experience when I have been to the US, bought a really average - bad coffee and had the waiter follow me around like a mafia dude waiting for his tip. He knew he was getting his 10% - there is no impetus there for providing good service. Just go through the motions and you'll get yours ... even worse is that you have so many stupid little coins...and prices aren't rounded so you end up with change bulging out of your wallet. I dont know how you put up with it.
In the U.S. - service folks depend on tips to survive. They don't get paid much - less than minimum wage in most cases. That's why tipping 15-20% is suggested in the u.s. It's not just for good service, it's basically paying the waiter their salary. The quality of the food or in your case the coffee is not the waiters fault. That's the establishment. You shouldn't connect the two. If it was that bad, you should have told the waiter that this was undrinkable coffee and to get you something else. As for change bulging out of the wallet - the key is, don't put change in your wallet. it is a pain. but i dump my change into a big fish bowl. Every few months I dump it into a coin machine. Last month I got about 80 bucks. Not bad for a bit of change here and there huh?
Wait - if you simply raise the price and turn it into a service fee, how does that encourage better service? In that scenario, the guy is definitely getting a flat amount no matter the quality of service - where is the incentive to provide better service? With tipping, he could get more with good service.
The real reason is because waiters are racist and treat blacks bad. If they would treat them equal, then they would get a better tip. I demand an apology from every waiter when I eat out, otherwise, I will try to get them fired. -HL Gates Jr.
Sorry, what argument did you want me to make? Im not a waiter, so I can't weigh into this argument. For me to weigh into a subject that I absolutely know nothing about would get me label as someone who stereotypes. Now those church going people are some of the worst tippers. I can attest to that. Happy now? My apologies for cracking on a prejudice professor.
