A recent study examined people's tipping behaviors and found that millennials tip the least. Find out the surprising reasons this may be.
Most people have a go-to method to determine the tip amount. Some people just double the tax while others tip 15 percent for mediocre service and 20 percent for great service. But according to a recent study, age groups do not all tip their servers equally.
Creditcards.com released the results of their study this month. The website interviewed 1,000 adults in different age groups about their tipping behaviors. The results of the study were quite interesting and probably shocking for some.
The study found that 10 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 37 (millennials), routinely leave no tip. Almost one third of millennials routinely leave a tip less than 15 percent. This is compared to 1.8 percent of Gen Xers and 4.4 percent of Baby Boomers. Out of the Baby Boomer category, people in the age range 64-72 were most likely to leave without a tip.
Millennials were also the most likely to select the lowest of the preselected tip options. According to Creditcards.com, "When presented with a variety of suggested tipping options, as you might find at a food truck or coffee shop or after taking an Uber, about one in six millennials say they regularly choose the lowest option, and nearly one in five gives no tip – the highest figures of any age group."
Creditcards.com urges readers not to simply conclude that millennials are cheaper than the rest of us. They state that there are actually a few factors that could lead to millennials tipping less. For one, millennials usually make less than their older counterparts. Millennials may, therefore, have less money to pay higher tips.
Generally, millennials also like fast-casual restaurants where there may be a lower expectation to tip. Since the older generation has a higher income, they may be more likely to dine at sit-down restaurants while millennials opt for over-the-counter joints.
Tipping expert at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration states, "Income predicts tipping. Older people really prefer tipping."
The survey also showed that millennials were most likely to want the tipping system gone. Around 27 percent of millennials stated they would favor a system where there are higher prices but no tip. Other groups that preferred higher prices and no tipping are people with an income over $75,000 (26 percent in favor) and people with college degrees (30 percent).
This study comes out at an interesting time. This week, voters in Washington, D.C., approved an initiative that will raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour by phasing out the current salary of $3.33 before tips. Initiative 77, which has been widely controversial throughout the District, has the potential to change tipping as we know it. Before the vote, signs hung in local businesses encouraging people to vote against the measure, while labor rights groups claimed it would help restaurant industry workers. Even the local restaurant workers themselves were divided.
While we may not know the exact reasons millennials tip less, the results of the survey are certainly interesting and sure to start a few inter-generational fights.
What do you think? How much do you usually tip? Do you support Initiative 77? Let us know in the comments below!
