How much do you tip?
A new survey revealed who is better at laying down some extra money after a meal, a drink at a bar, or getting a haircut. So, here are the best tippers according to CreditCards.com.
The people who give the most money at a restaurant are men, Republicans, baby boomers, those who live in the Northeast and those who use credit or debit cards. All of these groups tip a median of 20 percent when dining out.
The worst tippers at restaurants are women, who tip a median of 16 percent, along with Democrats, southerners and cash users, who tip a median of 15 percent.
When it comes to going out to eat, about half of people leave between a 16-20 percent tip, according to results from this survey. Between 11-15 percent is a distant second. But here is where it gets interesting – according to CreditCards.com, the survey found one in five people who go to a sit-down restaurant don't tip at all.
“I was definitely surprised by how many people tip over 15 percent, but I was also surprised by how many people never tip at all at a restaurant,” Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com’s senior industry analyst, said. “How is that even possible? I’m guessing they don't get very good service on their next visit.”
While men tend to be more generous at restaurants, women outshine them when it comes to three other categories.
- Hotel housekeepers (47 percent of women always or mostly do so, versus just 33 percent of men)
- Baristas (47 percent of women always or mostly tip compared with 41 percent of men)
- Hair stylists/barbers (79 percent of women always or mostly tip against 74 percent of men)
Here in the Midwest, if you are looking to make extra money, you might want to work at a coffee shop. According to the survey, coffee shop baristas get the more tips in the Midwest and West than in other regions of the country. The survey says around 50 percent of customers say they put cash in the tip jar always or most of the time.
The survey also found other trends in Americans' tipping habits at hotels, coffee shops and hair salons/barber shops:
- 27 percent of hotel customers always tip their housekeeper; 31 percent never do
- 29 percent of people who visit coffee shops always tip their barista; 30 percent never do
- 67 percent of people always tip their hair stylist or barber; 12 percent never do
The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. PSRAI gathered their information through a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,002 adults living in the continental U.S. They conducted the survey from June 22 to June 25, 2017.
