New York’s Year of Lavish Tipping Comes to an End
New York’s Year of Lavish Tipping Comes to an End
June 7, 2021 - Summarized from The New York Times
Business & Management, Social Sciences & Humanities
The New York Times – The pandemic turned New Yorkers into big tippers, particularly in the first months of the shutdown. Now, as the city reopens, average tipping on takeout, delivery, drinks and other restaurant meals is slowly but steadily returning toward pre-pandemic levels, according to data from millions of credit card transactions starting in mid-March 2020.
Prof. Ofer Azar, BGU Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business & Management.
Research shows we tip to show gratitude (a reason that might have loomed large during the worst of the pandemic); to conform to social norms; to reward good service; to impress other people; even just because we feel guilty if we don’t.
“Surveys also show that many Americans tip because they recognize that food-service workers depend on tips for their livelihood,” said Prof. Ofer Azar, of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s (BGU) Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business & Management, who has conducted studies on tipping in the United States and Israel. “Those jobs became riskier last year.”
“It could be perceived as an equitable, fair hazard pay,” said Mike Lynn, a professor of services marketing at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration. “As those risks go down, the need to pay for that will go down,” Mr. Lynn said. “If tips go back to normal, I think that’s a reasonable indication that perceptions are returning to normal.”
Read more at The New York Times >>
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