Perhaps you’ve noticed. We have reached a tipping point in the country over tipping.
To tip or not to tip has led to Shakespearean soliloquies by customers explaining why they refuse to tip for certain things.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, customers were grateful for those who seemingly risked their safety so we could get groceries, order dinner or anything that made our lives feel normal. A nice tip was the least we could do to show gratitude.
But now that we are out about and back to normal, the custom of tipping for just about everything has somehow remained; and customers are upset.
A new study from Pew Research shows most American adults say tipping is expected in more places than it was five years ago, and there’s no real consensus about how tipping should work.
The issue is that in the US we’ve made it a part of their wage.
(Please note though that if you make below minimum wage after tips, your employer is obligated to make up the difference. Wage theft is the most common form of theft in the US. Don’t let yourself get robbed by your employer.)
Luckily, minimum wage in my state is $7.25/hr, so restaurants almost never have to cough up anything over the $2.13/hr they’re required to pay servers!
/s