Is It Okay To Not Tip When The Service Is Bad?

Is It Okay To Not Tip When The Service Is Bad?

While there are different schools of thought on tipping at restaurants, you’d think the general consensus was to leave at least a few bucks on the table, no matter what. Well, according to a new poll from YouGov, over half of the U.S. won’t cough up anything if they weren’t satisfied with the service.

The Washington Post reports that 51 percent of people surveyed said it was “acceptable” to “leave zero tip after receiving bad service.” Among the respondents, more men than women were fine with stiffing servers (55 percent of men and 47 percent of women). Republicans and independents (51 percent and 55 percent) were more likely to skip the tip than democrats (47 percent).

While the new research might come as a surprise to some, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of this sort of tipping fatigue. In fact, 75 percent of Americans have expressed frustration over credit card machines in restaurants and tablets that automatically prompt tipping. Additional data reports that 65 percent of tips are given solely to avoid uncomfortable interactions and stare-downs from service workers.

This confusion over tipping etiquette is “precisely why we need One Fair Wage,” according to Saru Jayaraman, the president and co-founder of One Fair Wage, a group that works to eliminate the tipped minimum wage across the U.S.

“Besides the fact that tips were always an incredibly unreliable source of income and subject to the whims and biases of customers, we are seeing a huge increase in ‘tip fatigue’ as more and more industries try to get the exemption the restaurant industry has,” Jayaraman told The Post. “As tipping spreads as a result, customers tip less and less, with rising cost of living over the last few years, and it’s more and more important that workers receive a full minimum wage with tips on top.”

Late last year, Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of patrons were tipping 15 percent or less on meals at restaurants.

Etiquette expert and owner of the Protocol School of Texas Diane Gottsman, who spoke with The Post, says bad service is actually a “fair reason to skip a tip.”

“Only after you speak to the manager and make sure others aren’t going to suffer if you walk out without leaving any type of gratuity,” she explained. “Often, tips are shared by others in a tip pool that benefit those who are working hard to earn your trust and satisfaction. This is why speaking to the general manager and allowing them to make it right is the first suggestion.”

There are also other factors, completely unrelated to your server, which might cause the bad overall experience. “If the food came out late or didn’t arrive at the temperature they desire, it could be the kitchen’s fault, shortage of wait staff or a variety of other reasons. This would lend itself to speaking to the manager and allowing the manager to adjust the bill,” Gottsman added.

On the other hand, Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute and the great-great-granddaughter of the famous etiquette expert, thinks that leaving zero tip at a sit-down restaurant is never acceptable.

“When you walk into a sit-down service restaurant—where you place an order with a server, they go and deal with it, they bring you food, they take that food away—that in our minds is non-negotiable. You leave a tip no matter what, even if it was the worst service you’ve ever had in your life,” she told The Post.

“You might learn a couple things as to why things were that bad, and that restaurant probably should have alerted folks to say, ‘Hey, we’re down a chef tonight. Things are going to be a little slow.’”