Why are tipping rates lower on weekends?

Purpose The aim of this paper is to increase the understanding of how weekends influence tipping behavior within full-service restaurants in the USA. Design/methodology/approach Use over 68 million guest checks from 43 brand-name restaurants across 1,202 locations in 41 states and the District of Columbia over a recent 36-month period. Through this extensive data set, this study provides a thorough analysis of the weekend effect on tipping rates. Findings The study uncovers a notable weekend effect, indicating considerably lower tipping rates during weekends. It explores the underlying reasons behind this phenomenon. First, within the sample of credit card transactions, lower tipping rates are observed on Sundays, particularly in communities with high church attendance. This observation aligns with the notion that tipping as a prosocial norm that is intrinsically incentivized, gets crowded out by socially sanctioned prosocial norms like making Sunday church offerings. Second, the authors find that average restaurant tipping rates on weekends vary inversely with box office revenues, implying that tipping rates are lower on busy movie-going weekends. Research limitations/implications The evidence implies that the weekend effect on tipping rates is at least partially due to crowding out by elevated spending on other social activities typical for weekends. Practical implications Understanding the weekend effect on tipping rates holds significance for scheduling service staff. Traditionally, the personnel shift planning has been based on a meritocratic approach, wherein superior servers are allocated preferable shifts with the potential to yield higher gratuities compared to less desirable shifts. Originality/value Unlike prior studies reliant on small samples, questionnaires, interviews or surveys, this study leverages actual consumer behavior records, enabling a more reliable identification of the weekend effect on tipping behavior.