Question Everything: Has the pandemic changed the way we tip?
BOSTON — It’s 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. The bar at the Corner Tavern in the Back Bay is busy because the World Cup is on. “Usually a Tuesday day is a lot slower than this,” said Victoria Bishop.
Bishop has worked here for seven years. She’s getting tipped more now than ever.
“I would say over a whole shift 20%, sometimes 25%, on a really good night, 30%,” Bishop told WBZ-TV’s David Wade.
When COVID hit, bars were shuttered. Servers were out of work. But when they came back, customers opened their wallets in support, according to Corner Tavern Doug Bacon said.
“When we first came back, we had limited capacity, no use of the bar. People were tipping 30, 40, 50% regularly,” said Bacon.
“People just missed bars and I think they appreciate bartenders more than ever. Hopefully, it keeps going on,” said Bishop.
Boston University School of Hospitality Professor Sean Jung thinks tipping has increased over the past few years. He has studied the rise of gratuity.