As the restaurant industry recovers and evolves this year, its workers continue to grapple with tipping fatigue from consumers, ongoing staffing shortages, and inflation. Despite these challenges, consumers increasingly rely on restaurants and their workers to fulfill their dining needs during the busy holiday season.
BentoBox recently published “The State of Restaurant Tipping 2023,” a report that sheds new light on American tipping culture, the most controversial area of restaurant worker compensation today. To understand the changing face of tipping, the report surveyed 2,500 U.S. diners, finding:
- Three-quarters of diners like the feeling of tipping, but almost the same number say they would prefer to replace the practice of tipping with a higher base pay for restaurant workers.
- 76 percent of diners enjoy tipping because it contributes to a living wage for service employees.
- 74 percent of diners feel establishments should pay their staff a living wage instead of asking patrons to tip.
- As tipflation sweeps the U.S., two-thirds of American diners say too many places are asking for tips these days.
- 87 percent of diners think full-service meals deserve a tip and over half share the same feeling about takeout and delivery.
- 40 percent of Baby Boomers typically do not tip for takeout, whereas only 16 percent of Gen Z respondents reported not tipping for takeout.
- People who have worked for tips tend to like tipping more than those who haven’t.
- Three-quarters of diners who had previously worked for tips believe the practice of tipping leads to better service, compared to two-thirds of diners who haven’t.
- Almost half of employees who had worked for tips said they would miss tipping if it were gone, compared to only one-third among those who had not.
BentoBox’s Tipping Report and National Restaurant Workers Day initiatives look to inform diners, motivate restaurant owners, and inspire the larger restaurant community to support its workers who are the heart and soul of the industry.
