You are in line at a coffee shop. You pay for your coffee with your credit card. Then the cashier will show you a screen that will prompt you for a tip before the espresso shot or milk is served.
Helen H. Richardson is a photographer for The Denver Post.
Do you want to tip more to get a better drink? Is it any wonder that less or no one is upset at being asked to reward service that hasn't happened yet? Do you feel pressured to tip more than half the price of the drink?
This is a dilemma that most of us are increasingly facing in a variety of settings where previously you might have encountered a lone tip jar with change and crumpled dollar bills. We are being asked to pay a tip for a coffee drink.
In a 2020 research study, we looked at how the new pre-service tipping guidelines are affecting consumers and what it means for the baristas and other employees.
The tip jar is long live. Helen H. Richardson is from The Denver Post.
The tip invasion.
Point of sale platforms are making it easier for businesses to integrate tip requests into the service experience.
While most of us are used to tipping at a full-service, sit-down restaurant, we are now seeing tip requests in many new environments, such as cafes and bakeries, fast-casual delis and food trucks.
Some people prefer the convenience of tipping when placing their order, according to articles in the popular press. Others say they feel guilty tipping employees who have not yet provided a service, and who have done little more than type in an order and hand over a muffin.
How consumers feel about it.
We conducted a series of experiments with Hong Yuan to find out how people respond to different tip timing.
We looked at how it affected tip amounts, ratings and likelihood of returning to the business, controlling for variables that might affect tip amounts, most notably the effects of repeat customers or attractive workers.
The first study compared real tip amounts at two locations of a popular smoothie chain. At one location, tips were collected while ordering. The customer's order was handed to her by someone. After analyzing 7,523 transactions, we found that tips were 75% higher at the location that asked for them only after people received their smoothie.
We conducted three experiments in which we recruited participants online and asked them to imagine themselves as a customer. In one case, participants imagined ordering a drink and a sandwich at a cafe, while in the other two they had to get a haircut. Before or after receiving service, participants were randomly prompted to tip.
They were asked to rate the experience on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the most likely to return to the business and 10 being the least likely. In the third study, we asked participants how much they would tip, and how they would rate the service on a website.
We found that participants viewed pre-service tip requests as unfair and that they would not become repeat customers. Requests for tips before a haircut led to lower ratings in the third study.
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Some of the other negative feelings can be offset by businesses that emphasize the convenience of tipping.
Consumers prefer to drink coffee before giving a tip. There is a picture of Anastasiya Aleksandrenko on the website.
There are benefits to tipping.
The trends are always changing.
The proliferation of tip jars in the 1990s and the introduction of recommended tip amounts on receipts are some of the innovations. tip creeps have pushed up the average tip from 10% in the 1940s to over 20% today, and made tipping the norm in more and more types of business.
Our findings suggest that businesses should be cautious when using new innovations. If businesses stick to tradition, customers, employees and owners will benefit.
The Conversation is a news site that shares ideas from academic experts. Nathan B. Warren and Sara Hanson were the authors.
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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
