Poll: COVID-19 has not made America the best dump trucks

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred demand for some services, but has not necessarily led to a steady flow of more tips for service workers.

Gen Z consumers and millennials are less likely to tip everyone from the barista at the corner coffee shop to the Uber driver who takes them to the airport, and the pandemic hasn’t increased the percentage of service users who say they always tip, new credit card found .com tip survey.

Of all the tip scenarios featured in the June 2021 online survey of 2,573 American adults, sit-down meals are the most likely to tip. According to a survey, about 75% of customers who eat at sit-down restaurants say they always tip, and only 5% say they never leave a tip. (See survey methodology)

But when they tip, customers usually leave standard amounts. Among customers who tip in a variety of situations, the survey found the following average tip amounts:

• Dinner at a sit-down restaurant: 20%
• Food delivery: 17%
• Get takeaway: 15%

The number of foodservice users who say they always tip has dropped slightly in the new 2021 survey compared to our pre-pandemic tips survey. For example, the percentage of sit-down restaurant goers who say they always tip is down two percentage points from 77% in 2019. And the percentage of food delivery customers who always tip dropped four percentage points to 59%, despite the skyrocketing demand for tips. food delivery services during a pandemic.

This came as a surprise to CreditCards.com industry analyst Ted Rossman, who expected the pandemic to have a greater impact on American tipping habits.

“Deliverers and food workers have literally risked their lives doing their jobs for the past 16 months,” Rossman said. “It was an incredibly difficult time to work in the service industry.”

Are Millennials and Gen Z stingy with tips?

There are two aspects to being a good tip: the act of tipping and the amount. Millennials may be less likely than the older generation to tip. But when they do, the tip may be a little higher.

The survey showed that the likelihood of a customer leaving a tip decreased with each generation in all tipping scenarios presented. For example, here’s the percentage of service users who say they tip mandatory:

• Waiters or waiters in a sit-down restaurant − 88% of Boomers, 80% of Gen Xers, 58% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Zers say they always tip.
• Food delivery drivers 75% of Boomers, 65% of Gen Xers, 44% of Millennials and 40% of Gen Zers say they always tip.
• Hairdressers and barbers 76% of Boomers, 69% of Gen Xers, 49% of Millennials and 35% of Gen Zers say they always tip.
• Taxi drivers and taxi drivers 66% of Boomers, 48% of Gen Xers, 34% of Millennials and 32% of Gen Zers say they always tip.
• Hotel maids – 37% of Boomers, 28% of Gen Xers, 20% of Millennials and 18% of Gen Zers say they always tip.

The categories of service least likely to receive an “always tip” response from across all generations surveyed are cafe baristas (23% always tip and 24% never) and restaurant cashiers who serve takeout food (17% always tip and 33% never tip). do).

And there’s a plus for service providers with many younger customers: When millennials tip, they tend to be a bit more generous than other generations.

For example, in sit-down restaurants, millennials tip an average of 21% compared to 20% for boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Zers. They also tip slightly higher for food delivery (19% vs. 18% for Gen Z and 16% for Gen X and Boomers) and takeaway (18% compared to 16% for Gen Z and 13% for Gen X and Boomers). ).

Tipping experts can’t pinpoint why there’s a generational paradox that makes millennials and Gen Zers less likely to say they “always tip” but more generous when they tip.

The inability to “always tip” may be related to lower income. Or it could be that some people sugarcoat their experience at buffet restaurants where customers are less likely to tip, says tip expert William Michael Lynn, professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

It’s also interesting to note that 82% of Gen Zers have had their first restaurant experience, according to the National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation. National etiquette expert Diane Gottman teaches college students who tell her their experience in the service industry has made them the best tips.

“If you’ve worked in the hospitality industry, you tend to tip more because you know what it’s like,” Gottsman said.

Tips are closely related to income

The study found a strong correlation between income and tipping habits. For example, 82% of high-income households (annual household income of $80,000 or more) say they always tip at sit-down restaurants, compared to 73% of middle-income households ($40,000 to $80,000 a year) and 58% of low-income households. households with income (less than $40,000 per year).

This may help explain why the older generation claims to “always tip” more often, Rossman notes. “Generally speaking, older people have more money,” he said.

Has the pandemic increased tips at all?

It appears that many Americans were at least planning on tipping more generously out of empathy for the hardships service workers and small businesses faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey found that more than two in three (67%) American adults want to help businesses and workers who have lost money during the pandemic. In fact, 35% say they plan to tip service providers more generously, while others say they plan to patronize local businesses more often (44%), either pay extra for existing services or pay for unused services (13%).

“While it is reassuring that many say they will increase their tips, even more people predicted this last summer, and our data shows that it did not end up happening,” Rossman said.

But Lynn says he looked at two studies that showed a spike in tips during the pandemic. One study found that tips for Texas pizza delivery drivers increased by $1.24 per order during the pandemic. And another study based on data from payments company Square showed an increase in credit card tips for card-free transactions at full-service, fast-food restaurants. There has been a slight decline in tipping for card-show transactions at full-service restaurants, which Lynn attributed to a “dramatic change in the nature of service” during the pandemic.

“Before COVID, card-show transactions were mostly at lunch, and during COVID, card-show was mostly done,” Lynn said. “Americans, generally speaking, don’t like tipping takeaways.”

Hard? Why customers don’t tip or tip less

Since there are several hard and fast rules about tips, the decision to tip or not to tip depends on a lot of calculations.

In some cases, the customer may simply think that the service does not require a tip. For example, Lynn does not tip the barista who hands him black coffee. “It’s like drinking coffee at McDonald’s. I just don’t see the service,” he said. But things would be different if the barista was preparing a signature drink: “If I ordered a latte, I would tip.”

The survey found that people who tip may reduce their tip size for a number of reasons. In fact, 77% say that under certain circumstances they would reduce their tips while dining at a restaurant. The most common reasons why a restaurant with seated tips leave less than planned are as follows:

• Unfriendly staff (56%)
• Waiting too long (34%)
• Did not receive what they ordered or expected (34%)

“Often times people don’t want to tip because the bill was too big, or the food wasn’t delivered on time, or it wasn’t cooked properly,” Gottsman said. “But all these things are not the server’s fault.”

Tipping tips from etiquette experts

It can be difficult to know when and how much to tip. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

• Do: Learn the trick of the rules. It can be difficult to remember when and how much you should tip. Check out recommendations for common scenarios (see our tipping chart below to get started) and start tipping according to Lynn’s recommendations.
• Do: Carry cash with you. If you only carry your debit or credit cards with you, you’re likely to find yourself in an awkward tipping situation, Gottsman says. “If you don’t have cash, you are not ready,” she said.
• Do: When in doubt, ask. Not sure if you should tip or if the service provider is allowed to accept tips? It’s an awkward situation that can be alleviated by being open and honest, says financial psychologist Brad Klontz. “You can say, ‘Hey, is it okay if I tip you?'” he added.
• NotA: Hard for bad service. Keep in mind that tips are built into the pay structure of some service workers, Klontz noted. “For some people, it’s not bonus money,” he said. “It’s part of what they rely on to feed their family.”
• Not: buy into the “guilt tip”. Did you receive an email asking if you would like to leave a tip when you buy a bouquet of flowers or a bottle of wine in a store? The cashier making the purchase doesn’t need a tip, Gottsman said. “We have to get used to pressing the no tip button at the checkout,” she added.

What about the future of tipping on the other side of COVID-19? As restrictions lift and more people dine out and travel, Gottsman said it could be possible to return to more standard pre-pandemic tip levels. “You can tip kindly, respectfully and generously, but you don’t have to break your budget,” she advised.

Survey Methodology

CreditCards.com commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the survey. All figures, unless otherwise noted, are provided by YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 2573 adults. Field studies were carried out from 16 to 18 June 2021. Figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18 and over). The survey was conducted online and meets strict quality standards. It used non-probabilistic sampling using both quotas at the collection stage and a final weighting scheme designed and validated to ensure representative results at the national level.