Question Everything: Has the pandemic changed the way we tip?
BOSTON -- It's 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. The bar at the Corner Tavern in the Back Bay is busy because the World Cup is on. "Usually a Tuesday day is a lot slower than this," said Victoria Bishop.
Bishop has worked here for seven years. She's getting tipped more now than ever.
"I would say over a whole shift 20%, sometimes 25%, on a really good night, 30%," Bishop told WBZ-TV's David Wade.
When COVID hit, bars were shuttered. Servers were out of work. But when they came back, customers opened their wallets in support, according to Corner Tavern Doug Bacon said.
"When we first came back, we had limited capacity, no use of the bar. People were tipping 30, 40, 50% regularly," said Bacon.
"People just missed bars and I think they appreciate bartenders more than ever. Hopefully, it keeps going on," said Bishop.
Boston University School of Hospitality Professor Sean Jung thinks tipping has increased over the past few years. He has studied the rise of gratuity.
Jung said customers want their favorite spots to survive, and so even with inflation, the tips keep coming.
"The common norm was around 15% about 10 years ago. But there was a spike surge during the COVID period and that was the average was around 20%, and even today it's actually around 20%," Jung said.
Our experts said there's also a new psychological aspect to tipping because of the digital interface. You go pick up your own food and they flip over that screen and there are those predetermined tip buttons.
"The term we call that is called 'nudging,'" said Jung. "Some sort portion of your cognitive thinking says that 'if I don't pay this,' I'll feel guilty for the day."
According to one PlayUSA survey, 67% of Americans feel pressure to tip when "nudged" by that tip screen.
The Brighton House of Pizza was one of the first local pizza shops to use a digital touchscreen system. Aldo and Pat, brothers and co-owners of Brighton House of Pizza said people definitely tip more when they swipe and tap.
It's a great thing for small businesses.
Thirty-one percent of Americans say they tip when they pick up their own food.
Aldo said at his pizzeria, it's more like 40-50% of customers are tipping. But he wants to make it clear, there's no pressure to tip.
"If you get a sandwich, you're just taking out a sandwich, you don't have," said Aldo. "If you give us a tip we are blessed for it. There are no expectations. Now delivery is a different story."
