Has tipping gotten out of control in America?

Is tipping getting out of control in America? It seems like nearly every takeout food joint and service industry worker is asking to be tipped, and people are starting to take notice according to a wealth of data from 2023. So what's going on and is 'tipflation' real?

If you think tipping in America has gotten out of control you're not alone. Tipping in the United States has gotten increasingly problematic according to some experts and the issues started to get nasty when the pandemic hit. 

The standard tip percentage back in the 1950s was 10% of the cost of the bill according to CNBC’s Emily Lorsch but by the 1970s and 1980s, that number increased to 15%. 

Somehow, the standard tip in the United States in 2023 jumped to anywhere from a cool 15% to an outrageous 25%, and some businesses are asking for even more than that. 

“What we’re seeing now nationwide is something that is known as ‘tipflation’,” explained self-proclaimed etiquette expert Thomas P. Farley, also known as Mister Manners online. 

Farley told CNBC in April 2023 that people were being asked to tip at every available opportunity, and data from the financial processing firm Square was able to back up the theory that ‘tipflation’ was real. 

Prior to the pandemic, Square was reporting 43.4% of its remote transaction machines in the food and beverage industry offered a tip option to customers in February 2020 according to CNBC. 

By the time February 2023 rolled around, Square was reporting that the number of food and beverage remote transaction machines offering a tip option had jumped to 74.5%. 

However, most Americans really aren’t okay with the new tipping paradigm in the country and as many as 66% of people have a negative view of tipping according to a June 2023 study from Bankrate. 

Bankrate is a consumer finance company based out of New York and it recently found that Americans really don’t like tipping with 41% saying employers need to pay more. 

Interestingly, only 32% of respondents said they were annoyed by pre-entered tip screens while 30% said they believed that tipping in the United States had gotten out of control. 

“Few topics elicit as many passionate opinions as tipping,” explained Bankrate’s Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman—and he really wasn’t wrong if you think about it. 

“There’s so much confusion regarding who to tip, and if so, how much,” Rossman added without clarifying how much was an appropriate amount and to whom it should be given.

According to a survey from June performed by Creditcards.com, most Americans are tipping servers at a sit-down restaurant (73%) as well as hairstylists (66%), rideshares (43%), and food delivery people (57%). 

Less than 27% of Americans are tipping hotel keepers, baristas, and staff when they pick up takeout themselves. So you should feel safe in the knowledge that you probably need to tip when you get delivery but skip it when you’re the one going to get the food. 

In November 2023, a report from Pew Research Center found that Americans were as ever when it came to what they should tip. Only one-third of people (34%) said it was easy to know when to tip while 33% didn't know who should be tipped.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Tipping is one of those things in American society where there aren’t clear rules,” explained Drew DeSilver, the senior author of the Pew report. “There’s not a single generally accepted way of doing things, like with traffic lights, where we all know that red means stop.”

Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash

However, an overwhelming majority of people (72%) agreed they were being asked to tip at more and more places, so it does seem that 'tipflation' is real and people all over the country are experiencing it. But what should you be tipping?

Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash

As for the amount, that’s really up to your own generosity. It seems like 15% to 20% is the norm for most people at restaurants according to the survey from Creditcards.com but you should also tip what you feel most comfortable with giving, even if that’s zero.