Photo - Pixabay.com
Payment technology company Paynt has found in a survey that people in Latvia prefer to tip up to €5 for service in cafés and restaurants.
"Paynt, which offers and provides the catering industry with equipment and innovative solutions for both accepting and receiving payments, in cooperation with the research company Norstat, conducted a survey in September, the results of which reveal how much people in Latvia tip most often. The most popular answer, chosen by 22% of respondents, was between two and five euros, regardless of the total bill for the order. 21% of respondents said they leave a tip of 10% of the total bill for the order. On the other hand, 15% of the population revealed that they do not tip at all in cafés and restaurants.
The analysis shows that women are more likely to leave a tip of between two and five euros (25% of cases) than men (19% of cases). The opposite is true for a 10% tip on the total bill, which 23% of men and 19% of women choose to leave.
It is also interesting to observe the regional breakdown. For example, the survey shows that it is the Rigans who tip the most, as only 11% of the respondents indicated that they do not. In Zemgale, 20% of respondents do not pay for extra service in cafés and restaurants, 19% in Latgale and 24% in Vidzeme.
"The question of whether and how much to tip has always been an issue, with some people following generally accepted principles, others choosing to include the tip in the total bill, and still others believing that there is no need to pay extra for service at all. Our experience shows that this is not only an issue in Latvia," explains Sam Kouli, founder and board member of Paynt. "It is important to educate people and talk about the reasons why tipping is necessary. It is also important to provide a variety of options for tipping as the amount of cash decreases. This will increase the motivation of service staff to do their job well, strengthen staff loyalty and provide an opportunity to receive immediate recognition for their work."
New technologies that make tipping in cafés and restaurants much easier are becoming increasingly popular. That's why Paynt wanted to find out what could encourage tipping service staff. The most frequent response, 39%, was that tips are only paid if there is enough cash on hand. The second most popular answer, chosen by 24% of respondents, was the desire to include this additional service compliment in the total bill to allow a single payment by bank card. Specialised solutions such as QR codes, machines and mobile apps were much less frequently chosen.
"The Bank of Latvia recently informed us that people are using cash less and less. This means that many people do not have extra funds ready to leave with the waiters as a thank you for the quality and service of their meal. If a restaurant or café does not have a payment procedure where tips can also be left with a bank card or, for example, an app, then employees in the industry risk not receiving additional appreciation in the form of cash, thus reducing their overall monthly income," says Jānis Jenzis, President of the Latvian Restaurant Association. "Currently, staff shortages are one of the main problems in the industry, so it is important that they not only receive motivating pay, but also additional tips to feel financially stable and valued."
"In our experience, during the Covid-19 pandemic, people rapidly switched to cashless payments, so it is important to maintain tipping options with digital technology. Café and restaurant owners need to understand that by diversifying the options for thank-you payments for service quality, employees will receive more and consequently be more motivated to do a better job because they know their efforts will be properly appreciated," says Sam Kouli, founder and board member of Paynt.
Comments
Post a Comment