- People are tipping less as Americans keep pushing back against increasing requests.
- Gratuities for workers in several industries are down compared to prior years, recent data shows.
- Younger generations are more likely to see tipping as an obligation than older generations.
America's tipping slowdown isn't slowing down.
More and more businesses have been asking people for gratuities in the US — and customers are continuing to push back.
As of November, workers in leisure and hospitality roles (not including restaurant workers) made an average $1.28 an hour in tips, down 7% from the $1.38 an hour a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from payroll provider Gusto.
This follows on from statistics showing tips for restaurant workers dipped to some of the lowest levels since the pandemic this year. At full-service restaurants, they fell to an average of 19.4% of the total check in the second quarter, down from a high of 19.9% in the first quarter of 2021, data from point-of-sale platform Toast showed. At quick-service restaurants, tips slid slightly in the same period to 16.1% of the total check from 16.4% in the first three months of 2021.
The pullback comes after a fierce consumer backlash against the post-pandemic rise in gratuity requests, which is partially fueled by automatic point-of-sale tipping screens. Some have even declared that tipping culture is now "out of control." It's also left many Americans unsure about the guidelines, namely: When is it ok to tip, when is it a nicety, and when is it ok to decline a tip entirely?
Customers are being nudged "for more money in more places than ever before," said Thomas P. Farley, or "Mister Manners," an etiquette expert. "It was only a matter of time before actual tipping amounts began to decline."
Some businesses are having to raise worker pay to offset the drop, the WSJ reported. It also noted that some states are pushing for tipped workers to make the full federal minimum wage, which totals $7.25 an hour. That compares to the federal tipped minimum wage many bar and restaurant workers earn of $2.13 an hour.
Demographically, younger generations — adults under 30 — are more likely than older generations to view tipping as an obligation, according to a report by Pew that surveyed close to 12,000 Americans in August. Those 65 and older said they see tipping as more of a choice, compared to a smaller share in younger groups.