More than a fifth of diners opt out of paying service charge survey finds

In a survey of 2,000 consumers conducted by audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, 22% of consumers said that they never pay the optional service charge added to the bill. This jumps to more than a third in the South West (34%), 31% in the East Midlands and 30% in Yorkshire.

Diners in London, Northern Ireland and Wales are more generous, according to RSM UK’s latest Consumer Outlook survey, with around a third of consumers in these regions regularly paying the service charge. London leads the way, with 33% of diners always happy to pay a service charge added to the bill, followed by Northern Ireland (32%), Wales (31%), the North East (29%), and Scotland (25%).

Almost a fifth of UK consumers (19%) are happy with the optional service charge system, but nearly half (47%) want to be able to tip at their own discretion. In addition, nearly a fifth (19%) would prefer no tipping or service charge, with staff paid well and service charge to be included in the menu price.

“Not paying the service charge may seem at odds with the UK’s reputation as being polite and unwilling to cause a fuss, so it could be that ongoing cost of living pressures are impacting behaviour,” says Saxon Moseley, partner and head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK.

“Tipping can be a contentious subject but it’s interesting to see the regional disparity between whether or not people want to pay the service charge included in the bill.

“Cutting back on the service charge to make drinking or dining out more affordable could be the compromise that squeezed households are taking.

“If this trend continues, hospitality staff that are set to take home more cash once the new tipping act​ ​comes into play on 1 October may find their uplift smaller than expected as some consumers withhold tips and service charge for exceptional service.”