Zapper app to double staff tips at 800 UK restaurants

Mobile payment company Zapper has announced it will double staff tips at the 800 UK restaurants which use its app on a monthly Zapper Waiter Day.

Held on the last Thursday of every month, the initiative will apply to all tips made through the app at participating restaurants including Iberica, CAU, Burger & Lobster and Zafferano.

The announcement follows a media frenzy around restaurant tipping policies with high street brands including Pizza Express and Las Iguanas facing criticism for taking a percentage of staff tips using a tronc system.

“Zapper Waiter Day gives us the opportunity to say thank you to the waiters of whom are an integral part of our solution,” said Gerry Hooper, CEO of Zapper UK.

“While we support our restaurants and their front-of-house staff on a daily basis we felt it was important to hold a monthly waiter appreciation day and double Zapper tips.”

Through the Zapper app diners are encouraged to reward good service with a tipping emoticon on the app payment screen, which gets happier the higher you tip.

The company claims that 70 per cent of its restaurant partners have experienced a ten per cent uplift in tips since using the service, with the average contribution amounting to £4.50 per meal.

Zapper ran a similar initiative on this year’s National Waiter’s Day, when it matched all waiting staff tips made through the app.