Attitudes to Tipping

Abstract

There is a small, but growing, literature across various disciplines on tipping. In this study, 260 people completed four new, short questionnaires about tipping. The first part looked at personal attitudes to, and behaviours concerning, tipping, and showed that people believe they tip much like others but that the whole process can cause embarrassment. In the second part, they rated eleven statements about tipping, while in the next two parts they reported their frequency of tipping seven groups of workers (e.g., hairdressers, taxidrivers) and how much they gave. As predicted, they said they tipped most frequently to waiters and least to hotel doormen. They claimed to tip around 15% -20% of the bill. Education and age, both linked to income, were most related to tipping beliefs and behaviours. Implications and limitations are discussed.