Why Black People Don't Tip - T-Tees - Your Answers Await, Life's Questions Unraveled

One of the biggest stereotypes in the service industry is that black people don’t tip well. That stereotype, however, according to a few different studies that use different methodologies and different areas, has some basis in reality.

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On average, according to the Washington Post, black people tip less than white people in U.S. restaurants. A recent survey of about 1,000 restaurant servers found that 70% thought black diners/patrons were “very bad” or “below average” tippers, meanwhile those same people surveyed believe that 98% of white diners were at least “average” tippers.

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Working in the service industry, I can attest to the fact that there is a negative perception about black people’s tipping. I believe some of that perception can be attributed to the phenomenon known as confirmation bias. While 70% of responders believed that black diners didn’t tip well, over half of responders admitted that they don’t always offer their best services when waiting on black patrons. On average, blacks don’t receive the same level/quality of service as they probably should.

Being a server in a restaurant is a unique experience. It is also very different compared to working other jobs. Most servers get paid $2.13 an hour and that number hasn’t changed since 1991. The majority of servers rely on the tips they make from diners to pay their bills. In some restaurants, servers tip out a percentage of their total sales to busboys or hosts and bartenders, meaning that if a table doesn’t tip their waiter, not only has a server worked essentially for free, a server may have to pay a host or bartender for that table.

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When you go out to eat in a restaurant, it is customary to tip at least 15-20 percent. Research from Cornell University has shown that 70% of whites know that compared to only 35% of blacks. That divide — and also the difference in tipping, I believe — can be mostly attributed to the fact that there are significantly less black servers than white servers. That means that you have many more black people than white people that don’t understand how the restaurant business works. Go into any restaurant and chances are that you will have a white waiter/waitress. There are some restaurants where you can count the total amount of black servers on one hand. Meanwhile, the majority of the back-of-house staff are minorities. I have always found it odd that a restaurant can find black cooks and dishwashers but still have a very disproportionate amount of black servers.

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If you are a server and want to get better tips from black patrons, it is possible that you may have to give a better effort and spend more attention and time. Restaurants should hire more black servers so that black people can actually identify with the unique experience of being a server and understand the importance of tipping. Working in a restaurant I learned that you should always tip — even if your service is less than adequate. Tips are a server’s livelihood. Education, awareness, and relatability are three ways to bridge the gap.

Ja’Shawn Steward-Johnson is currently a junior at Fayetteville State University, in his hometown. His major is communications with a concentration in journalism and a minor in English. He believes that everyone has a story to tell and hopes to be able to share the stories of others through writing.

The contributing writers on the View from FSU blog are students at Fayetteville State University. The views they express are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of FSU’s administration, faculty and advisers.