2023-07-08 11:13:30
Since the Covid crisis, GastroSuisse has noticed a decrease in tips, the cause of which might be a decrease in cash payments. How do establishments handle tipping by card?
Who says holidays says terrace, bar and restaurant. The opportunity to explore the fate of a gesture that tends to get lost: the tip. Since the Covid crisis, the president of GastroSuisse and restaurateur Massimo Suter, interviewed on the show We talk regarding it, explains that he has noticed a drop in cash payments in favor of an increase in card payments.
According to him, the tip would also have undergone “a sharp drop”, in particular because of this change in payment habits. “It’s not that people don’t want to tip anymore, it’s just that they’re not used to rounding up the amount displayed on the machine when paying by card.”
A certain adaptation that would require a little time to be put in place. “I imagine that in a few years we will be so used to working with machines that tipping will regain its position in the service”, continues Massimo Suter.
>> See also: Tipping, a habit that is increasingly being lost in Switzerland
At the end of a restaurant meal, if you don’t have cash, it is often possible to leave a tip by paying by debit or credit card. But who will actually receive this amount? Massimo Suter replies: “Each establishment has its own tipping policy. In some cases, the money can be divided between the employees at the end of the day. It is also possible that the tip goes directly to the person who served you So it’s best to ask the staff directly.”
A commission on tips too
Sometimes the card payment machine offers to tip, for example between 10% and 20% of the bill. “Again, this can vary from place to place. It is therefore always wise to inquire, because a commission is deducted from the tips paid, specifies Massimo Suter. The restaurateur can agree to take charge of this commission or deduct it from the tip you leave.”
He gives the example of a customer who did not immediately think of adding a tip when paying by card, but decided to leave one following seeing the machine’s offer. A new transaction and therefore a new commission would then be recorded.
How does the tip left by card return to the waiter or waitress at the end of the service? Massimo Suter takes the example of his own restaurant: “If you leave four francs per card, the amount is placed in a common fund for all employees during the count. Twice a month, these tips are redistributed between the waiters and waitresses and kitchen staff.
However, he points out that here once more, the situations vary between establishments. “For example, some restaurants do not redistribute tips to the kitchen, or to a lesser extent than that of the staff in the service.”
As for the bosses, they should not normally touch a tip, according to Massimo Suter. “But sometimes it does. As a restaurateur, I don’t agree with that.”
Radio subject: Marie Tschumi
Adaptation web: Myriam Semaani
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