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.
I’m generally against tipping because in my part of Canada, tipping is “supposed to be” about 15~20%, yet we pay servers no less than any other service worker. A server gets paid the same hourly wage as a McDonalds worker.
Delivery drivers are where I still feel fine about tipping. They’re often paying for their own vehicles and gas, insurance, all kinds of added expenses. But they’re making the same hourly rate as someone in a restaurant.