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Split Bill

Techniques > Tipping > How to Get a Bigger Tip > Split Bill

Description | Discussion | See also

Description

When there is a group of customers eating together, offer to split the bill for them.

This is typical when there are two couples, or where there is a celebration with a number of people independently arriving.

Discussion

People are more likely to avoid giving a bigger tip if they think they can do so without being noticed, and in a group where people are contributing to a bill this may be possible. Also, when the bill is larger, there may also be more attention to a tip that seems a large amount, independent of the total price, and so may give customer an excuse to reduce their contributions.

When people have only their own element of the bill to pay, and when they are interacting directly with you, then they are less likely to short-change you with a smaller tip.

Freeman et al (1975) found that variation around tips norms was an inverse power function of group size. In other words, the bigger the group, the smaller the likely tip per person.

See also

Boost the Bill

Freeman, S., Walker, M., Borden, R. and Latané, B. (1975). Diffusion of responsibility and restaurant tipping: Cheaper by the bunch. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1, 584–587.