Status: 16.10.2023, 13:38 PM
By: Anne Hund
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According to etiquette experts, tipping in a restaurant is good manners. Even in times of inflation, most guests give a small fee.
If they were satisfied with the service, many pub or café visitors are happy to give a tip after eating or drinking. Of course, this is not a must. But according to etiquette experts, a tip is simply good manners. According to the usual rule of thumb, about five to ten percent of the bill amount is usually paid in restaurants.
Despite inflation: Most people tip in restaurants
Of course, this is only a guide. If you like, you are welcome to give more. Here, however, at least some guests seem to be more reserved in view of the increased cost of living. "There are still guests who continue to tip a lot," FAZ.net quoted the chief executive of the hotel and restaurant association Dehoga Thüringen, Dirk Ellinger, as saying in a report on September 18. Regular customers, for example, would continue to pay the same amount. "On average, however, it has become less. Some people don't even give anything at all, usually it's five or six percent." When people in this country go to a restaurant, they tip almost 80 percent of the time, according to a survey published a few weeks ago by the opinion research institute YouGov.
Don't miss out on a tip – etiquette expert explains why
Meanwhile, consumers have been feeling the effects of increased costs in many areas of life for many months. What if you want or need to save the tip as a result? Linda Kaiser, deputy chairwoman of the German Etiquette Society, had already emphasized in an earlier report in the Abendzeitung (AZ) that everyone, including the service staff, is affected by the general price increases. "So if you use the services of others, you should already remember at the time of commissioning that a tip as a gesture of appreciation is part of the prize. Saving money here is as rude as it is lacking solidarity," she said, according to the AZ (as of December 5). Kaiser recommends, as the report continued, to think more about the choice of service and "for example, to order a simple coffee in a café instead of the expensive mixed coffee drink". "Then the budget is enough for a tip."
For many people, the money is no longer so easy – but from the point of view of the etiquette expert, a tip is still appropriate. (Symbolic image) © perspektive/Imago
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Tipping in the U.S. – Amounts Increased Significantly
In the USA, the amounts of tips in the catering industry had risen in some cases significantly, as several media had reported. Even during the Corona pandemic, Americans have shown themselves to be "very generous", according to a report by N-tv.de (as of October 3). Data from financial apps shows "that tips in New York, for example, rose from an average of 19 percent to as much as 25 percent." On the payment terminals in restaurants, "22, 25 or 30 percent" is being suggested as a possible tip, as N-TV also reports. Basically, tips are higher in the USA than usual in this country.