I read that and it still says to me Christians are bad tippers. " Jews and "those with no religion" tip more (on average) than Christians or members of other religions.

So nice try, but Christians are still cheap

The funny thing about this is that Christians still think 15% is normative. As someone who has worked in the service industry for years, at least 18% is normative and 20% is expected for good service. Unfortunately the stereotypes are all too true.

There should be NO tipping, like in Australia. Tell your employers to either pay you enough money or find another job. I'm tired of being expected to pay 20% when I have never had a job that pays overtime, or extra for working on holidays, or getting a tip. The rest of us live without a tip, try it, it works!

I think part of the misconception might lie in what Christians order. Many, if not most Christians, as I am guessing, would either order little or no alcoholic drinks, depending upon their own beliefs and family status. That reduces the bill which would significantly drive down the total tip, though the percentage may be normative. Just a guess...

Just wondering if there's something about the tipping concept which doesn't jibe well with the Christian mentality. In a way, it's sort of like: Dance for me and I'll tip you! There's a power there that Christians may not want to take on. Adequate service, yes; but more than adequate--why do we need it? Who needs it? We're not kings--this isn't a "eat, drink, and be merry world for tomorrow you may die" world. --At least not to Christians.

Then, of course, when you tip high or low based on service--that's making a moral statement about a situation one doesn't know much about: Who's fault is it for bad service? The waitress? The cook? The buss boy? The owner?

OF COURSE, Christians could just be cheap! Let's try to tip at least 20 percent.

As a Christian who is active in church and regularly attends and serves in various capacities at church I think I meet the criteria that non-Christians would consider as Christian or even very Christian. I also eat out regularly for both work, personally or with my family. As a general rule I tip 20% for average service, 15% for bad service (I have used this 3 times in the last 2 years) and 25% or occasionally more for great service. Because I visit the same places again and again I have developed relationships with the people that are gracious enough to serve me and my family and I would attribute the positive relationship to positive tipping habits. I have gotten to know some of these people over time, become friends with them and seen them socially outside of their place of employment. Going to a birthday party with them or going rock climbing didn't happen because I was stingy. I had to invest in their lives before the Gospel has any chance to impact their lives. My two cents...

As a Christian I can attest that my fellow believers do tip poorly if at all. Some area churches here are known for skipping out on the bill entirely if they can, and they almost always attempt to convert the staff, or point out some flaw the waitress may have.

When dining out I typically try to avoid asking fellow believers to join me or just go on my own alone. Typically I tip 100% or more if I have the funds, and never try to run the staff down and convert them and I always try to find something good to say to them, even if the service is bad.

One waitress at a diner I frequent started talking to me one night and was shocked to discover I was a Christian. She described my fellow men as cheap and creepy. If they weren't trying to convert her, they were at least trying to hit on her and most of them happened to have been married. The words she used to describe my sisters in Christ can't really be repeated here on a family forum, it wasn't flattering to put it mildly. The staff there mostly agreed that they'd appreciate it if Christian customers would be a bit more kind and generous. They don't expect much, just some common human dignity.

. I'd like to say that this was an isolated incident, but over the years I've heard more or less the same reacting whatever restaurant I am at in any state in the union. With such brutish and penny-pinching attitude among the brethren, it's no wonder the world chooses not to listen to us; our very actions betray our words. If you can't at least behave yourselves ask yourself this: What would Jesus tip?......

I'm a Christian, and I usually tip 15%. That's the accepted rate, as far as I know. When did the percentage get raised? The prices at restaurants have increased greater than the rate of inflation. The waiters are getting more money as a result. Why should the percentage go up? I resent paying that much in tips. Does that matter?

It is legal in NC to pay servers $3.13 an hour because they are supposed to make up the difference for minimum wage in their tips!

Or it could be that many Christians don't realize that in American (unlike Australia) it is common for restaurants to be allowed to pay their employees somewhere around 1/3 of minimum wage (when I worked as a waitress minimum wage was $3.35/hour and waitresses made $1.10/hour) with the belief that the rest of their income comes from tips. Then the waitresses are automatically TAXED for minimum wage. They are supposed to, of course, report any amount of their tips that exceed minimum wage and pay taxes on that, too, though that rarely happens.

I don't know if it's 'fair' that you get to pay part of your server's salary or not. TIPS is an acronym for 'to insure prompt service' - at some point in our social model, it was decided it was a great idea to withhold 2/3 of someone's regular pay and make it up to the person they were actually serving as to whether or not they deserved to starve to death.

BTW - Christian, my lowest is 15%, often closer to 20 and sometimes 25%, though a very rude and thoughtless waiter/waitress will get 10%. I waited tables a lot in my life and no the hard parts and easy parts. I do usually err on the 'everyone has a bad day' if the server isn't too bad, but some should really just find a new job to work in.

When did tipping 20% become the new normal? Why doesn't the service industry just pay their employees a fair and decent wage, pass the increase costs on to us and forget the tipping. Frankly, I'm tired of tipping every Tom, Dick and Harry for service as it should be. And, if God only asks for 10%, why should a waiter get 20%???

I typically tip 20% as a default, unless it is one of those restaurants where you get a "server" who gets your drinks while you go to a buffet and serve yourself. But, how does anyone know if you are a Christian, unless you are dining out on Sunday in "Sunday clothes?" Also, any such study might take into consideration the theological mix. Do evangelicals tip less well than liberals, or the reverse? How do we compare with Muslims? Buddhists? New Agers? Why are Christians alone the focus of such concerns? And how do we know that some of the low-tipping "Christians" are not really generic "spiritual" people who happen to attend a church and show up at a restaurant on Sunday?

Some of this seems ridiculous, really, and just another opportunity to criticize Christians and "da cheerch!"