Photo: Getty Images/Boogich
Consumers were eager to tip in the early stages of the pandemic to support local establishments, but tipping fatigue has reportedly set in.
One reason is because tipping has moved well beyond full-service dining to cafes, bakeries, yogurt shops, food trucks, juice bars and fast-casual or quick-service restaurants. Major chains including Starbucks, Panera, Five Guys and Sonic offer tipping options.
Newer POS technology that encourages tipping is particularly making tip requests more pervasive. Payment through touch-screen tablets often offers tip options of 15, 20 or 25 percent - or “no tip.” Similar tipping options are offered when paying through mobile apps. In some cases, the minimum tip on mobile POS starts at 25 percent.
The screen query adds “more anxiety and social pressure into the tipping decision,” according to a New York Times article exploring tipping fatigue, versus the old-fashion tip jar.
This development is not simply a result of the pandemic. A 2018 article from Today was already wondering whether mobile payment systems were “guilting customers into paying those gratuities.”
Whether tipping is necessary for takeout is also a widely debated topic on social media. Critics note that most workers are at least making minimum wage and wonder if it’s fair to low-wage workers in other industries. Around delivery, confusing surcharges for service fees that are separate from optional tips to delivery personal are also feeding tipping fatigue.
The Wall Street Journal reports on recent data from Square that suggests that inflation and the “return to normal” are leading people to be less generous in tipping, particularly at establishments where there is no waiter or waitress service.
In a penned article for New York Magazine in response to a Times’ article on tipping fatigue, Ashley Wells, co-owner at Los Angeles restaurant All Time, said she recently instituted a 20 percent gratuity on takeout orders because takeout requires more staff and “more complex logistics” than dine-in and she has to support her staff.
She wrote, “Restaurant economics aren’t without their flaws, but think about it: There’s also a reason that your experience at the DMV feels different than your experience at your favorite restaurant.”
- To Tip, or Not to Tip? – The New York Times
- After Covid-19 Made Americans Better Tippers, Inflation Could Change That – The Wall Street Journal
- ‘I don’t believe servers should make $50 an hour. They get paid as much as nurses!’ If a waiter is making $15 an hour in California, do I really need to tip 20%? – MarketWatch
- This Viral TikTok Has People Complaining About Tipping Culture – Mashed
- How Tipping Fatigue Hurts Restaurant Workers – Grub Street
- Has 'guilt tipping' gone too far? The etiquette on when to say no – Today