The Tipping Divide: Study Finds Differences in Tips by Black, White Restaurant Patrons

National Public Radio ^ | 7/11/2003 | National Public Radio

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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.

[SoulStorms]

The best way I ever found to tip was to estimate what you will spend and put 20% of that on the table. When the wait staff comes over you tell them that is their tip. Anytime you have to look for them to get something, 1% of the money goes back in your pocket.

I've been doing this same thing mentally for years, starting with a generous tip, and subtracting for crappy service. Generally, I tip above average, since I was in the restaurant industry for a short while, and I know how hard it is for good food servers to make their living, but I have to say that your twist of making the tip tangible in advance is a good one! I'll be using that.

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

The "Multicultural Food Alliance"???

oye...

[NYCVirago]

There is a famous hot dog restaurant just off Route 3 in Clifton, NJ that has the *worst* service in the world.

Sounds like Rutt's Hut to me!

[tru_degenerate]

I generally tip to the level of service. And how much we work the waiter/waitress. I have a family of five and sometimes we can work them to death. We will have them going ack and forth all night. Not to mention spilled drinks and such.

If we are waited on in a respectable manner, we leave a respectable tip. Usually 15% but sometimes more. It has to be earned.

I wonder if the poor tips started before or after the poor service!?! If people are coming into these jobs with the idea of not trying to satisfy black patrons then why should they get tipped. I got a tip, treat all patrons the same regardless of skin color, and regardless of how much a tip is.

[tru_degenerate]

If the prices are too high then I stop eating there. If enough people foloow suit, then the company is out of business. Restaurants come a dime a dozen, customers may not.

[tru_degenerate]

GOOD POINT!!!

[MalcolmS]

>>>The best way I ever found to tip was to estimate what you will spend and put 20% of that on the table. When the wait staff comes over you tell them that is their tip. Anytime you have to look for them to get something, 1% of the money goes back in your pocket.<<<

The head alien on "Third Rock From the Sun" tried this once to impress his girlfriend. Didn't work.

[GilesB]

Thanks for your posts.

Economic success hasn't come overnight, but it has come to some degree, finally - and I am looking forward to more.

And yes, I have considerably more good days than bad, and I count my friends and my family (that would be parents, siblings and nieces and nephews - ironically enough, my last girlfriend called it quits because my economic success wasn't up to her standards! lol) amoung my greatest treasures.

[timydnuc]

We go to our cabin in northwest Wisconsin from our home in a suburb of St. Paul Minnesota. The prices in the Twin Cities are in line with that of a large metropolitian area. The prices in some fine little places in the area of our cabin are outragiously low.

We had dinner one night at a local popular little place on the lake near our cabin. It was a Saturday night and the place was packed but they were famous for their food and we picked a spot at the bar and waited with our guests. When we finally got to the table the poor little girl had to bus the table her self, rush to get our drinks while we decided what to order, and apoligize for the crowd while taking our order. She told us that our order (2 large & 2 small orders of slow cooked BBQ babyback ribs) might take a while. I told her that I'd take care of running the bar orders to our table so she could do her job. She protested at first, but I told her that I used to tend bar and I knew what she was dealing with' she smiled and reluctantly agreed.

We did wait a little longer than I'm used to but we were having such a good time talking, watching the night lake boat traffic and enjoying the people next to us, so we didn't mind.

When the meal came it was beautiful, and so was our little Wisconsin 'weegie' (short for Norwegien) girl. She was so proud of the food she was serving it made me proud to eat it. She gave all of us extra napkins (cloth) and instructed us that eating these ribs with a knife and fork was a 'no-no'. She, again, apoligized for her neglect of us during the 'rush' and to make up for that she would buy us a BIG Lienie (beer) to go along with it. She explained to the ladies, that both drank beer but not out in public, that beer was the ONLY beverage to have with these special ribs. From that point forward we were friends. She came back 5 times while we were eating, my future brother-in-law had another full rack of ribs. This is getting too long, so I'll cut to the chase.

The entire bill, for all of us, and one of the best meals I have ever eaten, was $48.00. We had invited my lady's sister and brother-in-law out and I was going to buy. I was flabbergasted! 48 bucks? WOW, I'll take the deal. So I put a 50 dollar bill in the little leather folder and 30 bucks on the table on top of it. We were easily ready to spend 175 to 200 hundred dollars that night. As we were leaving the place she ran out behind us saying that I had left 30 dollars at the table, trying to give it back to me. I said, "I left it for you darlin', you did a great job"! She stood there for a second, then smiled and said, "Thank you sir, PLEASE come back when I'm working", then laughed as we all did.

My future brother-in-law, Mike said that that was probably the record tip in that place in years. He also said I'll get a name around town as being a pidgeon. My reply was, "but I'll get good service".

You tip what you what and I'll tip what I want, don't bitch about it, and we'll all be better for it.

[Bob J]

Do they have a breakdown in the difference in tip amounts for white and black servers by white and black patrons?

[Rose in RoseBear]

Yeah ... and sometimes all my husband and I have to do to make an enemy is to walk into a restaurant and ask for a table.

When people like you make statements like that, I feel so much better about the substances on the plate of food I'm served.

[Rose in RoseBear]

Hate to break it to you, but when this black woman steps into a restaurant, she's really not thinking about hosing the waitstaff or suing the restaurant. I expect to spend 15% or so on a tip.

But when I get tawdry service --- cold food, "I forgot your food," I'll-wait-on-every-other-table-but-yours, sliding dishes across the table --- you bet I won't tip.

Has nothing to do with the way I was raised, either. I started going to sit-down restaurants (Earl Abel's, the only integrated restaurant in San Antonio at the time) as a toddler. My daddy waited tables in his youth, and tipped 100% on a $20 bill in the early Sixties.

But I expect good service, and I don't think that expectation has a d*mn thing to do with the color of my skin.

[Gigi19]

I work in the spa industry. It is not just blacks who do not tip, Indians (Asian-Indians)and Arabs also are incredibly poor tippers. As a professional I give everyone that comes to our spa outstanding service. All staff members complain about this issue, but we never telegraph it to a guest.

[Hildy]

Here is a related thread: Celebrities (mostly liberal) who are terrible tippers

[cyborg]

. Out of curiosity, I started keeping all the bill copies left on the tables in my section (no one usually takes the bill copy) and quickly marking down the tip I received and some codes – to designate black, white, Asian,


*** Now this is fascinating. I have a very unique 'look' and no one can ever guess what my ethnicity is. I've always left a very generous tip depending on the service, and I never use the 15% formula unless the service stinks.

[ozzymandus]

Black customers bitch about everything and don't tip. End of story. Ask any "waitperson".

[cyborg]

I was working at a department store. This guy came in and no one wanted to help him because it was closing time. He was a reggae singer late for his gig and I helped him get his suit. He gave me $30, and I told him he didn't have to pay me for doing my job, but he insisted! I've never gotten racial when coming to helping people as you can never judge a whole group of people. I've heard that black people do not tip, but I don't know if I believe that. Tipping is a generous act. Why should I have to PAY someone extra for doing their job? Suppose I didn't have money for a tip? Which reminds me, I forgot to give a tip to my hairdresser :D

[meowmeow]

Now this is fascinating. I have a very unique 'look' and no one can ever guess what my ethnicity is

Once in awhile I was stumped as to how to group people. But I had other categories besides ethnicity including, couples on dates, age, table-full-of-fat-people, local running club, etc. It was a fun exercise in a geeky kind of way.

[cyborg]

LOL... you are an unofficial anthropologist. You know I used to hear that rumor about certain people who never liked to tip. That's why I got into the habit of very generous tipping. I will say that working coat check at events populated by very rich people, that many rich are rich because they don't tip :D

[meowmeow]

Black customers bitch about everything and don't tip. End of story. Ask any "waitperson".

Sometimes at the end of a shift, the incoming server for that section would let the outgoing server take a couple more tables while incoming server got ready. If the customers were black, the outgoing server always - always - declined the offer. At first I thought this was awful, but I quickly learned. It just wasn't worth the trouble.