To Tip or Not to Tip

With inflation on the rise and financial constraints becoming more prevalent, the topic of tipping has surged to the forefront of discussions. Traditionally in the past, individuals were accustomed to adhering to the standard practice of tipping between 15 to 20 percent for their waitstaff. However, the landscape of tipping has evolved, extending its influence to encompass every business transaction. This shift has ignited a contentious debate questioning the necessity of tipping in various contexts.

In actuality the main reason for this rising conversation is Tipflation. This term was coined [WHEN]. It is used to describe the observations made by economists and customers alike on the increased amount of money needed to tip employees at both restaurants or other goods and services. 

There can be multiple reasons for the increase of tipping requirements in businesses. Most of the causes are due to the pandemic according to Investopedia. They argue that one of the results of the pandemic and a reason for the shift in tipping expectations is, there is an increase in tipping amount since some companies are receiving a percentage of the tip and it is not fully going straight to the worker. 

It also points out digital pay systems shortens the time it takes the decision to tip, which can produce more tips since there is less thought involved with tapping a button on a screen instead of taking out money and calculating the amount needed to be given. There is also the added pressure of having the tipping screen in front of the customer and the employee watching which button they push.

Senior Katherine Sloan said that a solution to the awkwardness of an employee looming over the screen, especially in places like a cafe or a boutique is to change up how they ask for tips. 

“Maybe it'd be better if they just had a little tip jar instead of it being on like the actual card machine, because that puts too much pressure on you,” Sloan said. 

Initially, most people only tipped at restaurants or places where there was a large amount of customer service involved. It was and still seen as a sign of respect for the service being given to them. Now, every business establishment, whether small or large or a boutique or food service app, asks for tips from their customers. 

Sophomore Kylie Winterling used to work as a waitress and understands the importance of tipping. However, she also puts value on what service deserves a tip and what doesn’t. 

“I'm also not an idiot,” Winterling said. “Like I ordered Crumble the other day and you do it on the little tablet. And then it's like do you want to tip them? Like who am I tipping? Because nobody took my order right? They take your order and then bring everything to you. Yeah, the people at Crumble take the thing off the pan and put it in the box. But, I don't tip because that requires no skill.” 

According to Yahoo Finance, Generation Z is the least likely to leave a tip while the baby boomer generation is known to frequently tip. The report goes on to say that only 35% of 18 to 26 year olds tip their server at a restaurant which is significantly less than the 70% of baby boomers. 

Winterling believes that although Generation Z is least likely to tip, it is mainly due to the fact that they are the youngest generation contributing to the economy and mainly buying low-cost items among other things.  

“I don't think it's that Gen Z is more conservative about our money or smarter about our money,” Winterling said. “I think it's just that we're getting outside influences that make us do things rather than being conscious that we do them.”

USA Today reported that DoorDash is trying to target tipflation in their transactions. On the app, many are able to put in their own amount of what they think the driver deserves to be paid. Although DoorDash said most of their users pay, there are a few that decide tipping isn’t necessary. To help reduce the amount of people not tipping, they have included a pop up message that is activated when a user puts in a 0$ tip that says “Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered - are you sure you want to continue?”

The implementation of this feature is still relatively new, but it does ask the question of whether we have lost sight of what tipping initially was for and why we have it. Or maybe it's time the U.S. joins other countries in not requiring tipping and just ensuring workers are paid a living wage without the reliance of tips.