While the practice of tipping has long been a subject of great debate, a recent survey from Bankrate suggested that American consumers are increasingly fed up with it.
The New York-based financial services company published the results of a survey last week asking Americans how, what, and who they tip, as well as their sentiments about the practice.
On the whole, approximately two in three respondents viewed tipping negatively, but for different reasons.
For instance, 41% of people reported that they felt businesses ought to pay their employees a high enough wage that would make tipping unnecessary.
The federal minimum wage for workers receiving tips is $2.13 per hour. Yet the chances that workers actually get a gratuity have been steadily declining over the past few years.
A possible contributing factor to this tip fatigue is the rise of electronic payments during the pandemic, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
For one, what services to tip for has become murkier, for instance with the rise of ride-share services or curbside deliveries for take-out.
But also, since the widespread integration of digital payments at the registers of all kinds of establishments, customers are automatically prompted to tip anywhere from 15% to 25% no matter their purchase, for instance when buying a tee-shirt at a concert venue. These payment programs often require customers to actively select “no tip,” which can be awkward.
Bankrate’s survey found that 32% of respondents were annoyed by these tip screens, while just slightly less — 30% — felt that the tipping culture had grown out of control.
“It seems like the ‘tip creep’ that’s occurring — being asked to tip for things that didn’t [used to] warrant a tip — is annoying a lot of people,” explained Ted Rossman, Bankrate’s senior industry analyst, according to Fox 4.
“I was recently asked to tip by a self-checkout machine at Newark Airport. … I’ve even heard of some doctors’ offices asking for tips,” Rossman added.
Americans are most likely to tip at sit-down restaurants, although this number has dropped from 73% in 2022 to 65% in 2023, according to Bankrate.
They are a lot less likely to tip workers providing home services (10% of respondents), preparing food for pick-up orders (13%), and working as baristas in coffee shops (22%).
Rossman suggested that the main reason for the decline in tipping is that people have less discretionary income amid high inflation.
Bankrate also found that Gen Z, millennials, and men more broadly tend to tip less.
To explain why Gen X and baby boomers might tip more frequently and better than their younger counterparts, Rossman suggested that it is “mostly because they have more money,” according to Fox 4.
Another survey looking at the prevalence of financial stress among Americans similarly suggested a generational gap in self-reported financial well-being, as The Dallas Express reported.
CNBC and Momentive found earlier this year that 75% of respondents aged 18 to 34 and 73% of those aged 35 to 64 reported feeling financially stressed compared to 54% of those aged 65 and up.
Rossman explained that he could understand why Americans might be becoming stingier with tips but encouraged it nonetheless in certain settings.
“Honestly, if you can’t afford to tip 20% for sit-down dining, you probably shouldn’t be going to that restaurant,” Rossman said, according to Fox 4. “When tipping is customary, like it is at restaurants, I think consumers need to build these costs into their budgets.”
