PDT 2/2 : Why has tipping increased?

PartyGirlUK · #1 11-30-2007, 11:07 AM

Diablo, I'd be interested to see how the wages of servers v. the mean wage has altered since you were in college. I'd guess that servers wages have risen less in real terms that the general increase in wealth. This would be my explanation.

D

ahnuld · #2 11-30-2007, 11:11 AM

dean, not true. If you look at restaurant prices im pretty sure you'll find that they rose proportionally to the level of wealth. Things like that dont really change over time so much because people are willing to allocate x% of their income to eating out, so when incomes rise so does the amount they will spend on dinners and the restaurant owners raise their prices.

Tony_P · #3 11-30-2007, 11:22 AM

my g/f claims that in the parts of the midwest she's lived (Wis. & Indiana) 10% is pretty common. I suspect she's just cheap. Can anyone from a flyover state confirm this?

SoloAJ · #4 11-30-2007, 04:45 PM

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my g/f claims that in the parts of the midwest she's lived (Wis. & Indiana) 10% is pretty common. I suspect she's just cheap. Can anyone from a flyover state confirm this?

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I'm from Illinois (non-Chicago area) and I personally tip based off 20%. Sometimes more sometimes less. I don't know anyone who tips based off 10% in non-Chicago IL, which should be comparable to Indiana and Wisconsin.

I don't know why I tip as high as I do. It isn't about "being a baller" or anything, because I certainly am not that.

I think that it is like Ray Zee said. I just have less of a value for money. It's not detrimental for me. I don't have credit card debt or anything like that (just college loans). The other reason, I assume, is that there is some intrinsic motivation within me and I enjoy helping others, also as Ray stated.

SoloAJ · #5 11-30-2007, 04:47 PM

El D,

I feel it may contribute somehow to this thread by saying that I am 22 and have always considered "standard tip" to be 15-18%. This is what I was always brought up on.

That said, I tip 20% or so almost every time I eat.

fnord_too · #6 11-30-2007, 05:10 PM

I think the bulk of the reason is sociological. If I had to guess, I would say that the incremental moves are because (as has been suggested) people want to feel 'better' than the norm. If the norm is 15%, then 20% is 'better'. Also, I am sure this is pushed by the perception of what more rich and/or famous people do. I don't think this really goes on at a conscious level though. This seems similar to words and names coming in to and out of fashion with the masses to me. We are, as individuals and cultures, striving by large to be better than the norm, however we perceive better than the norm as being.

bobman0330 · #7 11-30-2007, 07:48 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I think the bulk of the reason is sociological. If I had to guess, I would say that the incremental moves are because (as has been suggested) people want to feel 'better' than the norm. If the norm is 15%, then 20% is 'better'. Also, I am sure this is pushed by the perception of what more rich and/or famous people do. I don't think this really goes on at a conscious level though. This seems similar to words and names coming in to and out of fashion with the masses to me. We are, as individuals and cultures, striving by large to be better than the norm, however we perceive better than the norm as being.

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This is the answer. People who leave less than the average tip are stiffs that no one likes. People who leave more than the average tip are generous people who feel for the common man. It's also in the nature of restaurant meals that they are often situations where people want to show how great they are (dates, business lunches, even meals with friends. eating by yourself where there's no one whose opinion you care about to witness the tip is a rarity). So everyone wants to be above average, which is obviously mathematically impossible. When the perceived average was 15%, the real average was probably 20%. Now that the perceived average has caught up to the old reality of 20%, the real average is even higher.

Some people think that a similar effect plays a role in CEO pay, of all things. No board goes around looking for a bargain CEO who will work for less than average. They want a great CEO and they tell their comp consultants to pay him an above-average salary. And the same cycle goes on.

El Diablo · #8 11-30-2007, 04:51 PM

Tony,

10% is def on the cheap side anywhere, but my experience in the midwest and south is that tipping is still closer to 15% than 20% there for most, while in more urban/cosmopolitan/whatever cities like SF/NYC/LA/Boston it's closer to 20% for quite a few more people.

Autograt of 18% in Texas or Atlanta would be received pretty poorly, I'd guess (I haven't done group dinners there for a long time, though, might be wrong), but it's pretty common now for groups in SF/NYC.

NhlNut · #9 11-30-2007, 05:09 PM

Have we become more of a service economy?
It would make sense then, that more people have worked service jobs, and thus know what it's like to depend on tips for their income.

ahnuld · #10 11-30-2007, 05:37 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Have we become more of a service economy?
It would make sense then, that more people have worked service jobs, and thus know what it's like to depend on tips for their income.

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I stated this as well but I dont think its getting enough attention as a factor in this thread