Tipping has been a contentious issue among consumers and businesses for some time, with many feeling frustrated by automatic tip requests at places where tipping is not typically expected.
As more businesses adopt digital payment methods, customers are being prompted to leave a gratuity at places they normally wouldn’t, leading to frustration among consumers.
Many complain about tip requests at drive-thrus and places like bakeries, and some fear that tipping could become expected for other services like mail carriers and dentists.
Etiquette expert Thomas Farley considers the trend an “invasion” and says that digital requests can produce social pressure and are harder to bypass than traditional tip jars.
The high inflation rate adds to the frustration, making prices more expensive.
This is causing some customers to question the practice of tipping and whether it should be a required or expected part of the service industry.
Some argue that wages for service workers should be increased to a fair and livable rate instead of tipping, eliminating the need for customers to tip constantly.
Others believe that customers should have the choice to tip or not and that businesses should not automatically prompt for gratuities through digital payment methods.
The debate over tipping is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how businesses and customers will navigate this issue in the future.
Some may choose to continue the practice of tipping, while others may push for a more equitable and fair system for service workers.
Dylan Schenker, a 38-year-old barista at a Philadelphia café, relies on the tips he earns to supplement his $15 hourly wage.
Tips make up a significant portion of his income and help cover his monthly rent while he attends graduate school.
He finds it hard to understand why some customers who can afford to buy expensive coffee drinks would complain about tipping.
Schenker feels that tipping is a way to ensure that service workers are paid what they are owed and is demoralized when customers, especially regular ones, don’t leave a tip. He has been working in the service industry for 18 years.
Traditionally, consumers have taken pride in being good tippers at restaurants, where workers are paid lower than the minimum wage and rely on tips to make a difference.
However, academics who study the topic say that consumers are becoming irritated by automatic tip requests at places like coffee shops and other counter-service eateries, where tipping is not typically expected. Workers are paid at least the minimum wage.
Marketing professor Ismail Karabas from Murray State University explains that “people do not like unsolicited advice” and “they don’t like to be asked for things, especially at the wrong time.”
Clarissa Moore, a 35-year-old supervisor at a utility company in Pennsylvania, has noticed that even her mortgage company has been asking for tips lately.
She is happy to leave a gratuity at restaurants and sometimes at coffee shops and other fast-food places when the service is good.
Still, she believes that consumers should not be asked to tip nearly everywhere they go and that it should not be something that’s expected of them.
Moore says that being asked to tip makes her feel bad and that consumers may end up paying or tipping when they really don’t want to or can’t afford to, just so they don’t feel bad.
Digital payment methods have been around for a number of years, but experts say that the pandemic has accelerated the trend toward more tipping.
Michael Lynn, a consumer behaviour professor at Cornell University, said that consumers were more generous with tips during the early days of the pandemic in an effort to show support for businesses that were hard hit by COVID-19.
Lynn said many people genuinely wanted to help out and felt sympathetic to workers who held jobs that put them more at risk of catching the virus.
According to Square, one of the biggest companies operating digital payment methods, tips at full-service restaurants grew by 25.3% in the third quarter of 2022, while gratuities at quick or counter-service restaurants went up 16.7% compared to the same time in 2021.
This data shows continuous growth for the same period since 2019.
As tip requests have become more common, some businesses are advertising it in their job postings to lure in more workers, even though the extra money is only sometimes guaranteed.
In December, Starbucks introduced a new tipping option on credit and debit card transactions at its stores, which had been called for by a group organizing the company’s hourly workers.
A Starbucks spokesperson said that nearly half of credit and debit card transactions have included a gratuity, which – along with tips received through cash and the Starbucks app – are distributed based on the number of hours a barista worked on the days the tips were received.
Karabas, the Murray State professor, says that some customers, particularly those who have previously worked in the service industry, want to tip workers at quick service businesses and would be okay with the automatic requests.
However, research shows that for others, being asked to tip might make them less likely to come back to a particular business if they feel irritated by the requests.
The amount of the final tab might also affect how customers react to tip requests.
Karabas, the Murray State professor, said in research he conducted with other academics, they manipulated the payment amounts and found that when the check was high, consumers no longer felt as irritated by the tip requests.
This suggests that the best time for a coffee shop to ask for a 20% tip, for example, might be on four or five orders of coffee, not a small cup that costs $4.
Despite the final tab, some consumers might need to pay more attention to the tip requests.
Mike Janavey, a footwear and clothing designer who lives in New York City, said, “If you work for a company, it’s that company’s job to pay you for doing work for them.
They’re not supposed to be juicing consumers that are already spending money there to pay their employees.”
Schenker, the Philadelphia barista, agrees to some extent. He said, “The onus should absolutely be on the owners, but that doesn’t change overnight. And this is the best thing we have right now.”
The issue of tipping is a complex one with different perspectives and opinions.
While some customers appreciate the opportunity to show their appreciation for good service, others feel frustrated by automatic tip requests and the pressure to leave a gratuity.
On the other hand, businesses need help to balance providing a good service and ensuring that their workers are paid a fair wage.
In the end, it is a matter of finding a solution that benefits both customers and workers, whether it be through increasing wages, giving customers a choice to tip or not, or finding a different way to reward and compensate service workers.
The debate over tipping is likely to continue as society evolves and adapts to changes in the economy and technology.