Should have posted this last month when it came out…

As Economy Dips, So Does Customers’ Generosity

2008.3.21 22:30

Hair isn’t the only thing being trimmed at Head Bangers The Salon in Pendleton, Ind.

Customers searching for ways to fight high gas and food prices are doing some trimming of their own – in tips.

“Even the regulars are cutting back,” stylist Joanna Anderson said. “Usually they are apologetic and say they wish they could give more. But they just can’t right now.”

Many workers depend on tips for a substantial part of their income, and those hairdressers, bartenders, cab drivers and food servers have been among the first to be hit hard by the slowing economy, experts say.

Those workers are feeling a pinch because talk of a recession has consumers putting the brakes on extra expenses.

“It’s simply panic, and people cut back in anticipation of what may or may not come,” said financial commentator Lila Rajiva, co-author of “Mobs, Messiahs and Markets: Surviving the Public Spectacle in Finance and Politics.”

More at USA Today. 

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