# Waiters & waitresses: are blacks cheap tippers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290 "2004-06-08T15:55:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/81 "2004-06-10T16:31:34Z")
> [@Machetero](#): > > Everyone carrying on about how blacks are a bunch of cheap bastards. And now cry because one person offered an opinion on why they were cheap bastards that wasn’t politically correct. I don’t see why race couldn’t factor in on why blacks are cheap tippers (of which I don’t think has any cites, so to speak, either). Tell me you can see the difference between saying that race is a factor and saying that: > [@](#): > > Let’s not be politically correct, here - the vast majority of African Americans walk around with a chip on their shoulder and a sense of entitlement. If nothing else, “vast majority” is an overstatement. Nothing herein reflects: - Vast majority - Chip on their shoulder - Sense of entitlement I will agree that the vast majority of African Americans walk around; that’s about as far as I can go with **Jook** in this case. Other than that, he looks to me like he’s got a massive chip on his shoulder. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/82 "2004-06-10T17:42:08Z")
When I go to a restaurant and I pull out extra cash for a tip, the Chip[sup]TM[/sup] tells me to put it away so I can afford more crack and malt liquor. And now I find out it’s supposed to be telling me to stick it to Whitey. Maybe the CIA made a mix up and gave me the wrong one? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/83 "2004-06-10T18:50:54Z")
Check your social security number - if it’s odd, maybe they didn’t know you were black! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/84 "2004-06-10T19:18:49Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Maybe the CIA made a mix up and gave me the wrong one? Have you installed the upgrade yet? Maybe that’s the problem. You might want to start a thread in GQ for instructions on this. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/85 "2004-06-10T19:22:40Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Tell me you can see the difference between saying that race is a factor and saying that: > > If nothing else, “vast majority” is an overstatement. Nothing herein reflects: > > - Vast majority > - Chip on their shoulder > - Sense of entitlement > > I will agree that the vast majority of African Americans walk around; that’s about as far as I can go with **Jook** in this case. Other than that, he looks to me like he’s got a massive chip on his shoulder. > > Daniel I think that it is a plausible opinion as to why blacks might be poor tippers at least in the case of white servers (the race of the majority of servers IME). As the poster states, it’s not politically correct. I would opine that neither is subject matter of the thread anyway. Just like this is an “ugly” thread, “ugly” answers are to be expected. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/86 "2004-06-10T19:34:20Z")
No, Daniel, I’m fairly sure she’s young enough to have that as part of the original programming, no upgrade required. More likely, we’re dealing with a defective chip. You’ll need to ship hers back to Washington for repair. I understand they’re pretty backed up, though, so you’ll have to go on the waiting list. Between the wait and the shipping and reinsertion costs, I think I’d just leave it be. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/87 "2004-06-10T20:00:16Z")
> [@RindaRinda](#): > > I waited tables at middle of the road places like Chili’s and a local Italian restaurant. I noticed this phenomenon too, but I think it has more to do with the kind of places where I worked and the clientele. IOW, these are people who might be, as another poster called it, “first generation” middle or lower-middle class restaurant diners unused to tipping. Many of the other places mentioned - clubs, bars, pizza or sandwich delivery places - might attract this kind of clientele too. I think you’ve nailed it. My husband and I are definitely first-generation middle class. I come from a poor white urban Southern background. I could count on one hand the number of times that my family ate in even middle-of-the-road restaurants as I was growing up. I mean, taking the family out to McDonald’s was a big deal that had to be _planned and budgeted_. I’ve had to learn about tipping as an adult. It’s only after having close friends and a sister work as waitresses that I realized just how important it was to their income. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/88 "2004-06-10T20:20:18Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Pardon a hijack, but does anyone tip for takeout when you don’t have it delivered? I do, always. Not the 20% (plus or minus) for a sit-down meal, but a couple of bucks, sure. I do it not because I think it’s expected, but rather the opposite, because it’s unusual. I’ve learned there is no better way to get the attention of an establishment you’re planning to patronize regularly than to tip on takeout, and that the level of service you receive ramps up quickly and significantly when the people at the restaurant recognize that it’ll be worth earning your loyalty as a customer. I have excellent relationships with the various food providers in the neighborhood as a result; they know what we typically order and how we like it, and they say they missed us when we return after a long hiatus spent ordering from other shops. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/89 "2004-06-10T20:55:56Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > When I go to a restaurant and I pull out extra cash for a tip, the ChipTM tells me to put it away so I can afford more crack and malt liquor. And now I find out it’s supposed to be telling me to stick it to Whitey. > > Maybe the CIA made a mix up and gave me the wrong one? R.O.T.F.L.M.A.O. It’s so, so wrong but I just can’t help it. I think you just made my day. Or maybe it’s the 4th Prime Directive. You know, the classified one. PRIME DIRECTIVES: 1. Save money for crack 2. Save money for malt liquor 3. Carry chip on shoulder 4. (classified) Stick it to Whitey. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/90 "2004-06-10T21:01:37Z")
Deserved or not, my experience as a server was that there was always somebody complaining about having to wait on a “blacktop” (Yes, that’s ugly waitspeak). I never really minded and found that most tipped, but usually only 10% on the average. This experience may have been slightly atypical because I worked in a high end Hotel restaurant and most people came in for special occasions. The service and atmosphere begged $$$, people usually tipped accordingly or very well. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/91 "2004-06-10T21:17:40Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > More likely, we’re dealing with a defective chip. I think so. Lately, it’s been picking up country music and telling me to clap on the 1 and the 3. These are problems too severe to blame on corrupted software. I blame outsourcing. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/92 "2004-06-11T02:13:42Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > When I go to a restaurant and I pull out extra cash for a tip, the Chip[sup]TM[/sup] tells me to put it away so I can afford more crack and malt liquor. And now I find out it’s supposed to be telling me to stick it to Whitey. Clearly your Chip[sup]TM[/sup] is malfunctioning; like Fight Club, the first rule of having the Chip[sup]TM[/sup] is “Don’t talk about the Chip[sup]TM[/sup].” Oh wait. Country music is one thing (don’t talk about the Dixie Chicks and Dolly Parton in my iTunes playlist) but _clapping on the 1 and 3_?!?! Oh no, no no no. Get yourself to the reprogrammng center first thing in the morning, sistah girl, or I’m going to have to turn you in. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/93 "2004-06-11T03:07:35Z")
\*\*I think so. Lately, it’s been picking up country music and telling me to clap on the 1 and the 3. These are problems too severe to blame on corrupted software. I blame outsourcing.\*\* As long as you don’t find yourself eating mayonnaise sandwiches\*, I think you’ll be okay. Which are actually quite good but, admittedly, are the ultimate in White People Food. Or at least they were where I grew up; my black friends used to make jokes about it. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/94 "2004-06-11T04:04:28Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > \*\*I think so. Lately, it’s been picking up country music and telling me to clap on the 1 and the 3. These are problems too severe to blame on corrupted software. > > I blame outsourcing.\*\* > > As long as you don’t find yourself eating mayonnaise sandwiches\*, I think you’ll be okay. > > Which are actually quite good but, admittedly, are the ultimate in White People Food. Or at least they were where I grew up; my black friends used to make jokes about it. That’s because you called it a Mayonaise sandwich. We call it the Wishwich. As in “I wish I had me some meat to go in these slices of bread” ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/95 "2004-06-17T20:56:47Z")
Ok, so this thread has been dead for a week. I just thought I’d bbrink it back. At my restraunt no one, including the black waiters, likes to wait on black tables. They don’t tip anyone. Except me. I have gotten so many good tips from black folks lately! Thanks black folks! I appreciate it! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/96 "2004-06-17T22:18:56Z")
I’ve been delivering pizza for about six months now. Two of the three biggest tips I’ve gotten (around ten bucks) have been from black people. (The other one was from a group of Asians. Damn those cheap white people!) In general I do get a little less from blacks than from whites, even when correcting for estimated income level, which I can guess by seeing where they live. In a certain somewhat-upscale apartment complex catering to college students, I generally get at least a couple bucks. I’ve been stiffed there twice, both by black guys. However, I’ve also gotten some good tips there from blacks. There’s a couple lower class neighborhoods I go to where good tips are somewhat rare. The white people there are slightly more likely to give me a tip and slightly less likely to stiff me completely (as in, ask for the forty-five cents back in addition to the dollar in change I gave them.) So I’ve found that race is a decent predictor of what kind of tip I’ll get, but not as good as where they live. Women tip more than men generally, but I’m not sure whether race or gender is a better tip indicator. Age is a pretty good indicator as well. People under 21 (college kids in the dorms, kids living at their parents house) will usually tip pretty poorly. I get a lot of my best tips from people who appear to be about 22-28. I imagine this is because many of those have recently been waiters, bartenders, or drivers. But despite all the times I’ve been stiffed by various people, there’s nothing more irritating than getting $1.75 from a fifty year old guy in a $300K house who lives ten miles from the store. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/97 "2004-06-17T22:29:51Z")
Clueless he may be, but i think **Freejooky** has the truth trapped under that enormous brush. Statements like “vast majority” and “get whitey” both exaggerate and obscure what’s more likely to be true. As I see it, there are two types of bad tippers: the clueless and the resentful. Blacks may or may not be as clueless about tipping as whites, but if it’s related to socioeconomic class, I’d expect that the rate is a little greater. I have no idea whether that’s enough to get noticed. The resentful often tip poorly – some because they resent tipping itself (like **Freejooky** ’s incorrigible dad), others because… well, I think it’s because resentment drives out generosity, even when the resentment is not aimed at the proposed recipient of said generosity. And, let’s face it, Black people in America have a lot to resent. Oh, and **Ghanima** – is there something you didn’t understand about the word _classified_? Jeez. [size =1]Clean-up crew, neuralizers on “10” – 3…2…1…[/size] ---
**Author:** ![rattlerbrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@rattlerbrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rattlerbrat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/98 "2004-06-18T05:48:06Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Let’s not be politically correct, here - the vast majority of African Americans walk around with a chip on their shoulder and a sense of entitlement. I’d imagine they think they’re getting their reparations one stiffed white kid at a time. And how many African-Americans have you met? There are over 30 million in the States alone. Something tells me that you’ve met all of…10. For the record, I’m black and I believe in reparations…but I don’t believe my family deserves them (and neither do they), as we are not of African slave decent. Furthermore, white people should join up w/the fight against reparations, seeing that so many of you have African blood in your veins, whether you want to admit it or not. Topic? I was a server for one glorious day before I quit - not because the job was hard (it truly wasn’t; just exhausting), but because NO ONE FUCKING TIPS. Not blacks, not whites, not the young or the old. Blacks were expecting “hookups” because I’m also black; whites were expecting me to spit in their food because I’m a hateful Negress w/a chip on my shoulder, and don’t get me started on old people. Yeesh. And anyone working for $2.13 an hour…that shit should be ILLEGAL. ---
**Author:** ![rattlerbrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@rattlerbrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rattlerbrat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/99 "2004-06-18T05:51:17Z")
Hmmm…no edit button. Lemme clear up that reparations thing a bit. Descendants of African slaves deserve reparations, regardless of race. All blacks in America do not deserve reparations, because not all American blacks are of American slave decent. (I don’t see a problem African descendants not paying taxes for 400 years to offset the 400 years of American slavery. Sounds about even to me.) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290/100 "2004-06-18T14:56:45Z")
> [@rattlerbrat](#): > > And how many African-Americans have you met? There are over 30 million in the States alone. Something tells me that you’ve met all of…10. > > For the record, I’m black and I believe in reparations…but I don’t believe my family deserves them (and neither do they), as we are not of African slave decent. Furthermore, white people should join up w/the fight against reparations, seeing that so many of you have African blood in your veins, whether you want to admit it or not. > > . Oh yeah!? If so many whiteys have African blood, then why are so many whiteys good tippers? And wouldn’t that also mean you negros have some whitey blood, bu y’all tip like shit…so 'splain dat. -end sarcasm \*Jesus H. Christ…could you be any more ignorant? \* In a nutshell: some black people have a different cultural experience than many whites, and it’s possible that the cultural experience can explain differences in tipping habits, if differences even exist. Chill out everyone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiters-waitresses-are-blacks-cheap-tippers/249290.md?page=6)