About 40% of Americans said tipping culture has gotten out of control, according to a new Bankrate survey.
And nearly two-thirds of the people surveyed expressed at least one negative view toward tipping.
“There’s been a lot of tip creep in recent years, being asked to tip in previously unconventional settings,” Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman said.
People are tipping less often than they did four years ago. But Bankrate found the share of Americans who always tip stabilized this year after recent declines.
About four in 10 people in the survey said they were annoyed by pre-entered tip screens at coffee shops, food trucks, on mobile apps and any number of other places.
Rossman said tip requests have become so commonplace you can’t avoid them.
“I was asked to tip once at a self-checkout machine at Newark Airport. I was asked to tip at a pick-your-own strawberry farm,” he said. “I mean, these are the kind of things that make people say it’s gone too far.”
About 40% of people said businesses should pay their employees better rather than relying so much on tips. And 16% said they’d be willing to pay higher prices if we could do away with tipping.
“That’s a tough one, because there have been some efforts like (Shake Shack chairman) Danny Meyer, for instance, the famous restaurateur who tried to do away with tips but raise prices. And diners didn’t like that,” Rossman said. “They couldn’t really see past the higher prices.”
Just 35% of people in the Bankrate survey said they typically tip at least 20% at sit-down restaurants.
“Tipping is one of these weird things where we grumble about tipping, but yet we don’t want to pay higher prices,” Rossman said. “So, then tipping has actually become kind of this hidden surcharge of a business looking for customers to make up the difference and funnel more money to their staff without having to foot the bill or without raising prices.
“It’s this kind of delicate dance sometimes between companies, their employees and their customers.”
Fourteen percent said they’re confused about who and how much to tip. Rossman said the economy has led to more confusion.
“You may think, ‘Well, I’m paying a lot for that Uber ride back from the airport. Why do I need to tip?’ ” Rossman said. “A lot of that goes to the company. A lot of these workers rely on tips. It’s not a perfect system by any means.”
Rossman said technology is enabling tipping in different ways and in more places. He said tipping shouldn’t be required at a counter service restaurant, though he said it’s fine if you have an especially complicated or large order. Or, he said, you might like to tip if you’re a regular or they treat you really well.
And he said tipping is expected at a full-service restaurant, calling it “part of the social contract.”
Rossman said he was surprised to see just 43% of Gen Zers always tip at a sit-down restaurant. More than 80% of Gen Xers and baby boomers always tip at sit-down restaurants.
He said data shows people with lower incomes tend to tip less, and younger adults tend to earn less.
He said President Donald Trump’s effort to eliminate taxes on tips could backfire with unintended consequences. Tipped workers often don’t have solid safety nets.
And the federal tipped minimum wage is just $2.13 an hour. That hasn’t changed in decades, he said.
What if more companies convert workers to tipped status if taxes are eliminated? And then what if business slows down or fewer customers tip?
Rossman sees tipping at full-service restaurants as a given. Beyond that, he suggested ranking priorities for where and when to tip.
And he said people might want to offer a single, larger year-end tip for some service workers, such as babysitters, housekeepers or dog walkers.
Have a news tip? Contact Cory Smith at corysmith@sbgtv.com or at x.com/Cory_L_Smith. Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.