Swiss restaurant-goers generous with tips, survey finds

Two-fifths of people say they leave tips in bars. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Some 85% of respondents to a poll said they left tips after eating out in a restaurant. In bars and other places, the generosity is lower, but still considerable.

The main motivation for leaving tips for waiters and waitresses – although a service charge is standard in Switzerland – is to “show gratitude for the service”, according to the study published on Thursday by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). Four-fifths of the almost 1,200 respondents said this was the overriding factor.

Over a third were meanwhile of the opinion that service staff need the tips to supplement their low wages, while just under a third – and particularly younger people – said tipping was simply the social norm in Switzerland.

Three-quarters of respondents said they preferred to leave tips in cash.

Beyond restaurants, beauty and wellness centres (45%), bars (41%), or transport services (41%) were also places where the Swiss tended to leave tips.

Overall, the study found, respondents from the Germany-speaking (largest) part of the country reported themselves as being more willing to tip than those from the French- and Italian-speaking regions. Salary also played a role: 80% of those with a monthly income of CHF6,000 ($5,918) said they left tips, while the figure rises to 91% for those earning over CHF9,000 per month.

As for the size of the tip, 21% of customers round up to the next five franc figure, while 17% give 10% of the bill. Some 16% base their generosity on what cash they have available at the time, and 11% vary it according to mood and satisfaction with the service.