Slowdown Cuts Into Tips
At the Corner Pub on Cincinnati’s west side, bartender Melissa Metz can count the cost of the economic hangover in the stack of bills she has at the end of a shift.
Those tips make up the majority of her income, but they’ve been dwindling for months amid rising gas prices and other economic woes. Right now, her weekly income from tips is down about 25 percent.
“Some people are coming in less and maybe not staying as long when they do come in,” Metz said. “And normal customers who would normally tip $5 are tipping about $2 now.”
Bartenders, waiters, hair stylists, cab drivers and other workers who depend on tips for much of their income are among those who say they are seeing decreases as customers feeling the economic pinch trim their gratuities — or sometimes omit them entirely.
Hair stylists at Chappies Hair Design in Crescent Springs, Ky., say they haven’t seen a cutback in individual tips, but see people waiting longer between appointments — cutting down the amount of times people tip.
“Some who might have come in every four weeks for a haircut are trying to stretch it out and come in every six weeks,” said general manager Carla Frazier.
Photo by Paul Sancya.
cassy on June 30th, 2008 11:14 pm
The true meaning of life is not being comfortable all the time. We really encounter some ups and downs in our life. Lets thank God that we still have work, many are jobless.
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