People from Swansea are worst tippers, says research

People from Swansea are the lousiest tippers, according to research that found just one in five admitted they regularly recognise good service with a tip.

Leeds was found to be the most generous city, according to the survey of 1,925 people by discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, with 65% saying they regularly tipped.

The research into the leisure spending habits of Britons found that 63% said they were happy to tip, while 72% of those who said they didn’t regularly tip blamed the imposed ‘service charge’ restaurants add on to the final bill for their reluctance to tip.

While 17% said they didn’t tip in a bid to keep costs low, around one in 10 said they disagreed with the practice of tipping because restaurant staff already receive a wage for their work.

The average tip left in restaurants across Britain was found to be £1.50, with just 8% of respondents saying they left the traditional 10% tip for good service. The majority of those asked, 42%, said they spend between £25-30 on a restaurant visit for two.

Mark Pearson, managing director of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk said: “The sad issue about tipping is that many restaurants factor gratuity tips into their staffs’ wages, and in many establishments, the tip you think is going to the individual that gave you great service actually goes into a kitty, which is then split by management amongst the staff.

He added that some of the website’s biggest traffic comes from the less generous cities. “Despite the fact people from these areas may seem stingy; it may just be their frugality and discount-savviness being misunderstood.”

Based on the percentage that said they were happy to tip for good service, these are the stingiest cities in the UK:

• Swansea – 18%
• Edinburgh – 19%
• Coventry – 22%
• Glasgow – 25%
• Manchester – 26%
• Newcastle – 28%
• Bristol – 30%
• Nottingham – 34%
• Cardiff – 35%
• Stoke-on-Trent – 38%
  

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