I was wrapping up placing my order at Panera Bread on their self checkout menu when I was prompted to leave a tip.
I thought to myself, “Does this require a tip?”
It’s widely known that service industry workers like hairdressers, servers, and waitstaff should be tipped 20% of the service, but what if I’m just picking up a sandwich? With many industries raising their prices, some people believe asking for a tip on top of the inflated price is too much. A recent survey conducted found that nine out of ten Americans feel tipping culture is out of control.
How has tipping evolved?
Tipping became a popular practice after wealthy Americans visited Europe and brought the practice back home. The tipping style in America is unique to other countries around the world. For example, restaurant servers in the U.S. depend on their living wage from employers as well as tips.
In recent years as technology has evolved, consumers have been faced with a prompt to provide a tip at a self checkout where little to no human service occurred. Digital payments that will prompt a tip are appearing more and more frequently, and these prompts can feel like a demand rather than a kind suggestion.
Young adult tipping
Even though many people feel like they’re being asked to tip too much, the hard truth is that many teens aren’t tipping when they should be. A survey revealed at sit-down restaurants, about 43% of Gen Zers leave a tip, 61% of Millennials leave a tip, and 83.5% of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers leave a tip.
However, regardless of generation, there has been a drastic decline in general tipping. Covid-19 played a large role in the decrease of tipping. When restaurants were shut down during the pandemic, a vast portion of Gen Zers were transitioning into adulthood and did not experience the service industry culture early on and, therefore, didn’t learn how to properly tip.
When is a good time to tip?
A good rule of thumb to follow is if someone is going out of their way to convenience you, they should receive a tip. It can be seen as ignorant or rude to not acknowledge their service.
You should definitely tip the following:
- valet drivers
- nail artists
- servers at a sit down restaurant
- food delivery service
- hairstylists
- Uber drivers
This list is not exhaustive, and any service a person performs is potentially tip worthy. It is important to keep in mind many of these jobs don’t pay the highest wages, and tips go a long way for service workers. Small businesses especially rely on tips.
Skip the tip
Times when a tip may not be necessary would be retail transactions and instances where a computer kiosk performed your service instead of a human. For example, when serving yourself at a frozen yogurt shop, a tip is not necessary. You shouldn’t feel a sense of guilt if you aren’t leaving a generous tip each time.
What is the bottom line
If a service industry worker is going the extra mile to enhance your experience at their establishment, they deserve a tip. If you feel a service was nothing special, trust your gut on whether a tip is necessary. Just don’t be that group of teenagers that leaves a two dollar tip for a group of 15 dining at IHOP.
Let us know all your opinions on tipping culture in the comments!
