Guests save on tips – economy

Raffaella De Lio has never experienced such thrift. The 65-year-old grew up in gastronomy and has managed several restaurants in Munich. The native Italian has been running “Da Raffaella” in Munich’s working-class district of Giesing since 2019. “People used to be very generous here, but since inflation, they’ve been very specific with their money,” says De Lio. Before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, her service employees would have collected tips of 100 to 150 euros in one evening, but today it is only just under 10 to 15 euros. Although no fewer guests come to her, says De Lio.

Giving tips in restaurants, at the hairdresser’s, in the toilets, in hotels or in taxis is a matter of course for many people: “Thank you, that’s right.” But concerns about price increases seem to be overturning this well-rehearsed ritual. While the Germans were already considered stingy in an international comparison, since the cost of electricity, groceries and petrol have risen, they have turned the money tap even tighter – including when it comes to tips.

There are two tip camps

No matter who you ask in gastronomy, most think ten percent is appropriate. “When I go out to eat, I always give ten percent and more,” says Raffaella De Lio, “you know what hard work that is.” At the beginning of this week, tipping is no longer a social norm to which everyone feels bound. The ARD journalist Anja Reschke started a debate on Twitter about What’s going on with the Germans, a friend of hers has recently been getting tips in a few cents in a Hamburg restaurant.

Two camps immediately formed in the comment column: those who were angry about the stingy and selfish fellows. And the others who find it unreasonable that they should top up the precarious wages of catering staff with a “private donation” in addition to the invoice amount.

In fact, today many bartenders, waitresses, cooks and baristas are dependent on the financial extra income. “The waiters here often used to come home with more tips than the hourly wage,” says Raffaella De Lio from before the pandemic. Now many service workers could hardly afford an expensive city like Munich. Figures from the Federal Statistical Office show that hourly wages in gastronomy 2021 averaged 2156 euros gross. And that was only a third of the salaries in the highest-paying industries, such as the oil and gas industry. For single people there are just under 1500 euros left – just as much as a single apartment often costs in many metropolitan areas.

He is considering paying his employees less profit sharing

Ahmet Özkan has been behind the counter at “Gorilla,” a popular neighborhood bar in Munich, for eight years. His wife owns the shop. Your staff gets ten percent of the turnover on top of their wages every evening. “I think that’s the fairest way, so the people behind the bar also get something, not just those who collect,” says Özkan. But for the first time since they opened, this concept no longer works. The 48-year-old is considering reducing the subsidy to eight percent. Why? There is no longer enough tip. “That’s now about 30.40 euros every evening, which I have to pay extra.” That doesn’t sound like much at first, but that’s almost a thousand euros a month, says the bartender.

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73 percent of Germans already save when shopping

Both restaurateurs see the price increases due to inflation as the primary reason for being economical. A representative study by the management consultancy McKinsey in mid-July shows that meanwhile 73 percent of Germans their shopping behavior changed to save. Low earners in particular are already clearly noticing the higher costs in their monthly budget. But the smoldering uncertainty about how the economic situation will develop as a result of the war is causing the majority to have subdued consumption.

Open detailed view

And then there’s the card reader. A natural enemy of the staff, as those who have been waiters know. During the lockdown, guests were almost educated to pay more often by card instead of passing small change back and forth. But guests give, that shows about a scientific survey from a dissertation from 2009, which according to De Lio and Özkan is still up to date, tip less by an average of three percent when paying by card. In addition, the service staff are then dependent on an honest boss. Industry experts therefore advise that it is better to give a tip in cash separately from the bill.

A vicious circle could develop

But the motives are also exciting: The survey from 2009 also shows that the amount of the tip is not only measured by the satisfaction of the guest, but also says a lot about their character traits. The guest would like to be perceived as generous, writes the author of the study. And the amount of attention increases when other guests are sitting at the table or when he is accompanied. Nevertheless, there is also the expectation of being served in a friendly and attentive manner. Almost 94 percent of those surveyed stated that they do not tip unfriendly staff.

For a good service you need enough staff. But there is currently a shortage of cooks, waiters and waitresses across the country. Raffaella De Lio is eagerly awaiting her new waitress, who will not start until September. Until then, she darts wildly back and forth between her terrace, the counter and the kitchen. “Right now I have to do everything myself, I only have a kitchen help,” she says. In the evening, her feet and lower back hurt, “but especially her head, in the evening you don’t know your name anymore,” said the 65-year-old.

This means that gastronomy may be facing the next vicious circle. Due to the lack of staff, the guests are less satisfied and continue to give less tips. This makes it even less attractive for former service staff who have meanwhile migrated to other industries to return. The landlady of a tavern in the middle-class hip Munich Glockenbachviertel, Karin Nessenius, therefore reduced her opening hours a week ago. “There’s no other way, you can’t burn people like that,” says the experienced restaurateur.