this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
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Summary

Tipping in U.S. restaurants has dropped to 19.3%, the lowest in six years, driven by frustration over rising menu prices and increased prompts for tips in non-traditional settings.

Only 38% of consumers tipped 20% or more in 2024, down from 56% in 2021, reflecting tighter budgets.

Diners are cutting back on outings, spending less, and tipping less. Some restaurants are adding service fees, further reducing tips.

Worker advocacy groups are pushing to eliminate the tipped-wage system, while the restaurant industry warns these shifts hurt business and employees.

Key cities like D.C. and Chicago are phasing in higher minimum wages for tipped workers.

Non-paywall link

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[–] [email protected] 160 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

You can bet there was some more tolerance for it when there was some guilt for office workers staying at home while service roles had to stay on site during the height of covid.

The fact that so many point of sale make it a default thing to put it directly out there for someone to tip before any service is done and with that decision in view of everyone around doesn't sit well either

[–] [email protected] 86 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm so fucking done with it, that I just assume everyone behind me is too. I happily hit that "No tip" button. Unless you provided an active service for me, or went above and beyond to get me something, then why do you deserve a tip? I have to pay you extra money for you to do your job correctly?

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's actually driven moreso by the point-of-sale vendors. They enable it by default, because they make a percentage of the transaction as a processing fee. The merchant has to request that it be disabled.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I only tip at restaurants and when I get my hair cut. All of this new tipping stuff, I have always assumed was just a generic update to enable it basically everywhere... I've always hit no tip... I don't feel bad for it... You're not getting paid 2 dollars an hour working at some random place that's not a restaurant... I've heard stories of employees not even getting those tips... It's a push for greed... That's it

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

And the default options are 20, 25, 30 some places.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 weeks ago

I was in SoCal several months back and ended up in a candy shop. Nothing but drawers of candy on the walls and one desk in the middle with a young woman sitting behind the checkout tablet. I had a question or two, but she was neither helpful or knowledgeable (it's candy. not a difficult topic). She seemed very disinterested in engagement.

Well, I finish my selection, she scans and the tablet shows the totals with the big tip screen (NoTip-15-20-25%). I was taken aback that her job would get tips and wondered if she was paid enough before I smashed the NoTip button to finish up since she hadn't done a thing to merit one.

[–] [email protected] 138 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Blame the companies, not the customers. I bought a $12 water at a concert and the attendant acted offended I didn't tip. Don't get mad at me.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 weeks ago

Yea, we're getting exhausted from being constantly barraged by demands for tips.

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[–] [email protected] 116 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (10 children)

I mean...

2016, I went to a bar and got a 16oz beer, a burger and a basket of fresh fries for $18. I was happy to throw $3-5 on that for decent service, hell even subparbaervice.

Now it's an 11oz beer being sold as a 12oz beer for $9 and a $22 burger, add fries for $4

If I get 2 beers, it's $50 with a tip.

The fuck?

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[–] [email protected] 106 points 2 weeks ago (56 children)

good work Americans, keep it up.

don't stop until the rate is 0%. paying workers is the employer's job.

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[–] [email protected] 100 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Worker advocacy groups are pushing to eliminate the tipped-wage system, while the restaurant industry warns these shifts hurt business and employees.

Imagine having to pay a living wage, burger prices would explode!

Except, for example, there is a 12.82€ minimum wage in Germany and a hamburger ist still around 2€ at Burger King (about 1:1 in $ atm). Food and work safety are stricter too iirc. Workers also have 20 days of vacation minimum (if your work full-time), 60h weeks maximum @ 40h on average, as well as extra pay for night, weekend and holiday shifts. And health insurance is about 200 a month at that income I think.

Edit: Oh, and of course still 5-20% tipps.

You are getting screwed over completely. Anyone who claims otherwise is your enemy.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 weeks ago

We had 150 million people decide to keep things going the way they are. Until a major slice of shit hits the proverbial fan, nothing will change. The American population is too fat, stupid, and lazy to make the change on its own.

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 2 weeks ago

Stop tipping culture. Pay your workers.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

American tip culture is fucked, and it has been for a very long time. Once gas stations started begging for a tip on my soft drinks I figured it was about time to rip the band aid off.

Unfortunately tipping less means wait staff are gonna get fucked -- no way to soften that. We need to get to a place where their livelihoods aren't dependent on generosity.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 weeks ago

at one point they need to learn that to protect their livelihood unionize is the answer, not asking customers to subsidize what the employers are not giving.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

This is only going to get worse as late-stage capitalism continues to wring every last penny it can out of the working class.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

I wonder if all of the places like Subway that are asking for tips and getting $0 because who the hell tips at a Subway, are throwing off this stat at all.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Probably not directly, but I think tipping fatigue is definitely affecting things. If you’ve been prompted 10 times already to tip at places you usually wouldn’t tip and then are in a sit down restaurant, you may very well feel inclined to tip less.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

When was a kid in the 90s, tip was 10% of the $20 bill. By the time I was eating out a lot in my 20s we left 15% on the $35 because we liked the servers. Now the check is $50 and the "recommended" is creeping past 30%.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

I've seen tipping options on websites to pay your landlord

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

"Corporations and Restaurants refuse to pay waiters a living wage, subsidizing their salaries with their already drawn thin customers' depressed wages."

There, I fixed the title so it identifies the actual problem rather than causing divisions in the working classes.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 weeks ago

You flew too close to the sun, you insufferable, greedy pieces of shit. Pay your workers a livable wage yourself, we're done subsidizing your labor abuses.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 weeks ago

A gas station that I go to added a tips jar a few years ago. Wtf. You aren't doing shit but tapping on a sale screen. I really like the people working there. They remember me and we chat. But I'm not tipping you because I bought a Gatorade and you rang it up.

On the other hand, I dated someone from another country who didn't live a tipping culture. When she covered a meal and didn't tip, I'd leave cash because I know it's expected. I was embarrassed that she didn't agree with our custom.

Tipping needs to go. Just pay people a fair wage.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Tipping culture and systems need to die off. Sadly, because they often get paid more via tips than they would by increased hourly wages, tipped employees are often against such reforms.

And, to be fair, for most restaurants, it would be really hard for them to pay their wait staff appropriate wages in many cities where rent is extremely high and the cost of the food products they use to create their meals is rising as well. It’s not a simple matter of “the employer should pay their employees’ wages, not the customer.” The industry is built around tipping, and that’s not something that can be changed overnight.

Still, I firmly believe it needs to happen. And if that means increasing the price of restaurant meals, so be it. I suspect people eat out too much these days anyway and should learn to cook themselves. I used to eat out a lot until I did some calculations and realized I was spending way too much on it. Since learning to cook, I’ve saved a lot of money and now prefer my own cooking to a lot of restaurant fare out there (although not the really good stuff—I’m no professional chef).

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

You all are nuts for how much you tip these days.

It used to be you tipped waiters at restaurants (not register jockeys), your hairdresser, the valet guy, the hotel maid, and maaaaybe the delivery guys if they went above and beyond hooked stuff up and you made them carry something heavy up 10 flights of stairs. That’s it.

The waiter got 10-15% for good service. I dunno about hairdressers but I think around 10% was normal. Everyone else got a few bucks to a fiver (unless you drove a Lamborghini)

Tipping landlords - are you kidding me? Tipping when you weren’t served? - gtfo Do you do it because you’re afraid of conflict? You’re doing it to yourselves - it was bad enough before and you all are just feeding the beast.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The final straw for me was 5 Guys. They added a gratuity on (wtf for idk coz I got my own EVERYTHING) the ticket, then had the audacity to have a tip jar. Never going back.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Tip fatigue is real. When every interaction with a touchpad asks you for a little something extra on top of inflation, it gets old fast.

I tip 20% when I get served by a person. I typically add 10-15% on carryout, for their troubles.

A brewery I go to weekly for dinner with friends recently changed the tip buttons on the pad to 18, 22, and 25. I like them a lot, but the place is pricey, and you have to go to the bar to order. They get the 18% button now. (I could do the math, but... beer)

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I typically add 10-15% on carryout, for their troubles.

When will you start tipping your car dealer 10-15%? your lawyer? PCP? insurance agent?

The troubles are real after all.

Don't forget to tip your landlord while you're at it, and give an extra 10% to the fed come tax time (so now.)

Do you tip 10-20% at the drive through? It's equivalent to take out except you don't have to get out of your car.

Can't wait until we start tipping our colleagues for replying to our emails. It's only fair.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Im glad I never eat out due to dietary restrictions. Why does ordering more expensive food entitle a server to more money for doing the same amount of work?

I assume I'm probably just too poor to understand.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 weeks ago

Good! Tipping culture is NOT generosity; it is a symptom of an exploitative economic model that values capital accumulation more than basic human dignity.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

I think at some point we need to agree as a society on a no-tipping day in which we stop paying tips, and just keep it up. After that point, no tipping for anything, and rather than not tipping being a stigma, tipping becomes a stigma.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Tipping is beyond fucked up.

Guy at home depot loading your heavy ass lumber into the truck? No tip.

Some dipshit behind the counter punching numbers on a screen, you better believe that's a tippin!

STOP TIPPING unless somone is actually serving you!! Ask yourself, is this service closer to the guy loading the lumber, or the gas station attendant sitting behind the register?

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I used to love ordering pizza for delivery, and I'd give like 5-10 bucks as a tip which might be 30 or 50% just depending. But now nobody does their own delivery anymore, I pay extra for the food because they're outsourcing to Door Dash, and it takes two hours to get a pizza.

Delivery is dead as far as I can tell. All that's left is going through the fast food drive-through which is like 12-15 bucks nowadays. I'd rather just eat at home.

The only time I go out nowadays is when I'm with a friend.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Inflated prices and a lack of disposible income will do that.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I'm pretty well done tipping unless I'm going to a sit down restaurant and the service is really good

You know what tipping is supposed to be used for

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

You know what tipping is supposed to be used for

Yes, allowing management to pay less than a living wage so that the public can cover the rest.

I get your meaning (and agree), but tipping as a practice should be dead and gone.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (10 children)

Door dasher in Australia here: after about 500 completed orders, I can say I've been tipped once, by this old lady like A$5.

Tipping is stupid. I'm not incentivised to do anything better. The app would just give everyone crappier orders if everyone tipped.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

When I go out, I usually tip well. My sister used to be a bartender and waitress and she relied on tips.

That said, tipping is really screwed up now. I went to a stadium for a game once and the employee said that they don't receive the tips when you tip for buying a beer or whatever unless it's cash. That's messed up if true.

I used to think Mr. Pink was an asshole, but he was on to something. I wish tipping was eliminated completely.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago (23 children)

Good, the only way people will get a living wage is if the people stand with them and refuse to tip

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago

The worst part is when you go to a place you need to pay before service is rendered.

If I go to the bagel shop and get a dozen I pay before I pick them out. TIP? Are you kidding me, what what, you have not served me yet.

A tip is to reward good service at a sit down place. I still think it shouldn't be and if we have it, it should be back to the 5-10% like most countries that have tipping.

But if you ask for a tip before you render service i get a little angry.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

I swear when I was a kid in the 90s 5-10% was standard.

Anyone else remember this?

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