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We’ve reached a tipping point: self-service kiosks are asking for tips, while shoppers feel pressure to tip cashiers who don’t cook a thing. At restaurants, where a tip of 15 to 20% has been standard for decades, suggested tips are climbing higher and higher.
In a viral incident earlier this month, TikTok creator BD Powell claimed that a Shake Shack kiosk at the Salt Lake City airport raised the price of his items after he selected “no tip” during checkout.
Shake Shack denied that the man’s total changed after not selecting a tip, saying the change in price was due to an error. But the incident struck a chord just the same. People are fed up with feeling forced into tipping.
The Post spoke with tipping and etiquette experts to clear the air about when and where to tip, how to avoid tipping guilt, and how tipping may actually be hurting the restaurant industry.
William Michael Lynn, professor emeritus of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University, told The Post that the country’s anti-tipping sentiment is growing.
“People’s attitudes towards tipping have gotten worse,” said Lynn, who has been studying tipping for over 40 years. “They’ve started to dislike it more and more.”
According to Lynn’s research, 32% of people said they wanted tipping abolished in 2016. That number climbed to 52% by 2022.
“Even in traditional settings, people are asking for larger and larger amounts,” said Lynn. “Nowadays, people are starting at 20% and going up to 30% in terms of the tip options they provide. It’s this expansion in occupations asking for tips and in the amounts that they’re asking for that’s fueling this dissatisfaction.”
Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore says people should feel no obligation to tip at unmanned kiosks, and discourages the practice.
“If you’re not having any contact, if somebody’s not bagging up your food, if there’s no one touching your food, no one cleaning your table, there’s absolutely no reason to add any additional tip … any tip at all,” Whitmore told The Post.
But who even gets paid when you tip at a kiosk? Lynn says the money likely goes straight to the top.
“That money’s not being thrown away, and there is no service provider like a waiter or other human who collects that tip. So it has to be going into the coffers of the business.”
Though Whitmore insists that tipping is always optional, she says there are some situations where giving a little extra can go a long way.
“There’s a Thai restaurant that I frequent, and I always get takeout. I don’t sit down. I grab and go. But I always ask for extra sauce. I know there’s somebody in the back who’s preparing it and bagging it up for me. So I generally leave a few extra dollars, and that’s my way of just saying thank you,” said Whitmore.
“Some people don’t give any kind of tip in that situation because they don’t see the person; they just pick it up and go.”
The author of “Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work” says it’s good form to tip at establishments that you frequent and have developed a relationship with the staff. She also says it’s important to tip your Uber Eats or Postmates guy.
“It’s important to leave a tip for that person, because they’re not necessarily going to ask you for a tip, but it’s always nice if you include an extra 10%, 15%, sometimes even more, depending on how far they traveled.”
Guilt tipping is also on the rise, especially as more stores adopt digital screens at checkout that ask for tips.
“People feel a sense of guilt when a cashier is standing there waiting for them to put in their tip amount,” said Whitmore.
“A lot of people don’t necessarily feel like a tip is warranted because the employee hasn’t really done much for them. They just took their order and put it in a bag and said, ‘Here you go!’”
The Protocol School of Palm Beach founder says people stressed about tipping should just keep it simple.
“If you’ve got any doubt or if you have any guilt, just carry cash,” said Whitmore. “Leave what you can. If it’s just $1, leave $1. If it’s $2, leave $2.”
As for restaurants that automatically include gratuity in bills, the etiquette expert says don’t be afraid to get clarity from servers.
“It’s perfectly acceptable to say, ‘Is a tip included? Is a service charge included?’ And if it is, then if you feel like giving $1 or two more, that’s completely up to you.”
Lynn, who published “The Psychology of Tipping” earlier this year, says America’s tipping culture is truly unique to the US. Across Europe, for example, “tipping is really rare,” he said.
“We’re the only country I know of that allows waiters and waitresses to be paid a substandard minimum wage, and that puts pressure on consumers to make up those low wages with tips.”
Eventually, Lynn says, the high cost of tips could work against restaurants. He thinks restaurants should be capping tips at around 20%.
“I think that the industry can, in fact, help reduce those increases [in tips] if they simply stick to promoting the 15 to 20% norm and stop asking for these huge tips. Instead, start with 15% and go up to 20 and leave it at that.”
The researcher warns the increase in the amount restaurants are asking for tips could eventually hurt the industry.
“It seems to be a constant increase. That’s good in the sense that service employees are getting paid more, but it increases the front of house/back of house pay disparity, and it increases the cost to consumers of dining out,” said Lynn.
“How much more can the average tip increase before it starts to backfire and hurt businesses? I don’t have an answer, but it can’t keep going up forever.”
