Has tipping culture gone too far? It’s a question that pops up time and again. Some feel servers should absolutely be tipped well, others say there’s a severe sense of entitlement. Every now and again, a customer or a server will go viral after complaining about their tipping experience. And it’s happened again…
This time, a man says he and some friends went to a new restaurant and ordered appetizers, entrees and dessert. While the customer admits the server needed to make quite a few trips to their table, he firmly believes his $11 tip on a $220 bill was fair. The server clearly didn’t feel the same way. They left a note on the bill telling the customer that if they can’t afford to tip well, they should stick to fast food.
"If you can only afford a 5% tip then maybe you should consider eating fast food"
That's the note one man received from his server, after leaving an $11 tip on a $220 bill
You can watch the full video here:
Has tipping gone too far? Most Americans think so but not all experts agree
81% of Americans feel that tipping has gotten out of control, while 2 out of 5 think it should be banned altogether. That’s according to a WalletHub survey conducted earlier this year.
Many customers say they’re merely “guilt tipping” and not actually rewarding good service.
“I think tip requests have become more pervasive because of technological advancements that allow tip screens to be added to any point of sale (POS) system,” says Cortney Norris, Assistant Professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Oklahoma State University. The expert says it’s become exhausting for consumers.
“Every time you check out somewhere, instead of just signing your name, there is a tip screen and then you have to ask yourself, do I have to tip this person and if I do, how much do I tip? Then there is the awkward moment where the employee notices you did not tip and you cringe a little inside,” she explains.
Many of us have been there. Gone are the days of ordering a takeaway coffee without being asked how much you’ll be tipping.
Norris says customers are already irritated. And if the tipping burnout gets much worse, many servers might suffer, especially those who rely solely on tips. She warns that people could get so fed up that they stop tipping altogether. This means that counter workers will still make the regular minimum wage, while full-service restaurant employees will come out short.
While it doesn’t seem this way, Norris says that no one is obligated to tip, and all tips are voluntary (minus service charges). However, because it has evolved to be a social norm, people feel uneasy if they do not leave a tip.
John Sobota, Lecturer, Recruiter and Program Director at the University of Wisconsin-Stout agrees that people should not be obligated to tip. However, he adds that servers should not make their guests or clients feel poorly for tipping poorly. “Good service should be rewarded and kindness goes a long way,” says the expert.
Sobota doesn’t feel that the tipping culture is out of control. He believes that with the use of electronic payment systems with auto-tip suggestions, the tipping process has become much easier and hopefully, more profitable for servers.
“One still has a choice to either tip or not tip, or at the minimum decide how much to tip, based on the service provided,” he adds.
So, what is a decent tip?
“In full-service restaurants where servers and bartenders are making the subminimum wage (varies by state) which can be as low as $2.13 an hour, tips are the primary source of income. In those situations, the tip should be based on the server's performance,” says the expert. “If they did everything you asked, your order was correct, your glasses stayed full, and did it all with a smile and a nice disposition, then the minimum tip should be 18%.”
However, she adds that most servers and bartenders believe it should be at least 20%.
"Tipping culture is cancer": many people agreed that they were sick of tipping
