Tip-reliant workers say slowdown cuts into tips

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“We used to get tips of about 20 percent of a bill, but now it may be 15 percent or less,” said Cundiff, who says 75 percent of her income at the diner depends on gratuities.

“People just aren’t eating out as much either,” she said. “If you don’t serve as many people, you don’t get as many tips.”

Hair stylists at Chappies Hair Design in Crescent Springs, Ky., say they haven’t seen a cutback in individual tips, but see people waiting longer between appointments — cutting down the amount of times people tip.

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“Some who might have come in every four weeks for a haircut are trying to stretch it out and come in every six weeks,” said general manager Carla Frazier.

Michael Lynn, a consumer behavior professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, has studied tipping behavior and isn’t surprised workers are reporting that it’s declining. Since his studies show that people with high incomes tip more than people who earn less, he said, it follows that people tip less when the economy sours and their income drops.

“Paying $80 to fill up your gas tank can really put a chill in people,” said Anthony Townsend, a professor in the College of Business at Iowa State University. “And people react to more apparent times of economic distress by tending to economize around other issues.”

Cincinnati cab driver Dawit Medhane said the tips he usually received had made up only about 15 to 20 percent of his income, but helped cover some of his gas costs — which have tripled compared with last year. Customers who previously gave 15-20 percent are now more likely to give 5-10 percent, or nothing.

Image: Tipping
Paul Sancya / AP
A $1 tip is left by a customer at Linda's Place Restaurant in St. Clair Shores, Mich.

“People are using cabs less, too,” he said. “Some companies have cut corporate travel, and that means less business and less tips.”

Business customers who fly into Cincinnati haven’t reduced their tips, said Sam Brown, who has been driving a cab for 34 years, but many others who take a cab to the grocery, work, or a doctor’s office aren’t tipping at all now.

“I understand they just don’t have it, but that cuts into my income,” said Brown.

Anna Duran, a nurse from Grand Junction, Colo., who was visiting Boston, admits she doesn’t tip any more than she has to when she eats out.

“Sometimes I feel cheap,” said Duran. “I try to give what I can because I am not the only one trying to save.”

Neil Tibbitts of Boston, a former waiter, said he has been trying to dine out in less expensive places, but always tries to leave at least 20 percent.