What is the appropriate amount to tip?
As a 2007 baby, I feel like growing up, the average tip that you would leave at any facility that provided personal service was 10%. Somewhere between now and then over the last 20-ish years, it seems like the average has doubled.
At a restaurant, the pre-determined tip options now typically offer 18%, 20%, and 22%; to my disbelief, I have even seen 25% as an option. So it just got me wondering when did this sudden spike occur and why has it become socially acceptable?
In high school, I had the “pleasure” of working at Chick-fil-A, and honestly it was the best first job I could have ever had. It helped break me out of my shy, Covid-conduced shell, provided leadership opportunities, but most importantly with any job, it provided me with an understanding of the value of money. That being said, fast food restaurants famously do not accept tips. Entering college, I got my first food service job that allowed me to accept tips, and that alone was such a game changer to working in the food service industry. Obviously, at Chick-fil-A, one of the core values is providing top-notch service, so putting in that extra effort towards guest satisfaction came relatively naturally.
To be completely honest, I wasn’t “on” all the time, especially after working at Chick-fil-A for over 2 years; however, once I started collecting tips at my new job, the motivation to be “on” more consistently definitely spiked. I even did my own personal experiments based on silly Tiktok’s I had seen of girls wearing their hair in different styles from a messy bun to braids, or testing different styles of makeup to see if that impacted my tips. I can say with full certainty that going from a job that accepted no tips to a job where my sole motivation was to earn tips gave me a complete 180 on tipping culture.
As I mentioned, growing up, I feel like it was customary to leave at least a 10% tip when you went out to eat, with that percentage increasing as time has passed. Prior to my new job, I didn’t have a proper appreciation for tips and the impact they can have on a person in the food service industry. I even learned to have an appreciation for cash tips in comparison to digital tips. Now, in any place that provides some sort of food service, where I know with certainty that tips can make all the difference, whether at a cafe, small business, or restaurant, I always tip; that being said, my own experiences shaped these habits, and I wasn’t always like this.
I feel like now the bare minimum is 15%, and as a college student that is not made of money, that can definitely add up. I can sympathize that the extra 15%-20% can seem like a lot, especially when you are tipping in a fast-casual environment or feel like you haven’t received the best service. There are definite pressures that companies use to boost tips, like in big groups, implementing an automatic gratuity, or having a server present the hand held devices to take your payment right in front of you, so the awkwardness makes you feel the need to leave a good tip; even presenting extremely high options starting at 18% for the pre-calculated tip options to make it seem “easier” by having you avoid figuring out the tip on your own. That being said, as someone that has experience, I feel like it can be a little ridiculous to expect customers to pay a minimum of 15% for a mediocre job. The underlying pressure that tipping puts on customers to make up for the lack of income service jobs provide honestly is unfair.Â
While tipping is “optional”, I think raising the minimum bar to such extremes is unfair to both the customer and the employee. Tipping should be a bonus for a job well done. It should not be expected. If an 18% minimum tip is expected after every interaction, it takes away from the motivation to earn those tips, and thus service then slips.
There have been so many changes to service since growing up. Somewhere along the line, companies started to take advantage of the unwritten social obligation to tip, and utilized it to their advantage.Â