'Tipping culture cracking': Why tips are way down in America

10 January

After the COVID-19 pandemic ended, many Americans voiced their displeasure over a trend that has been dubbed "tipflation." Workers who, traditionally, were not tipped in the past were suddenly asking for tips — and Americans who were already tipping bartenders and waiters deeply resented requests for tips in convenience stores, supermarkets, hardware stores, food courts and other places.

The Wall Street Journal's Heather Haddon, in an article published on January 9, reports that Americans have been tipping less and lays out some reasons why.

"People are tipping less at restaurants than they have in at least six years, driven by fatigue over rising prices and growing prompts for tips at places where gratuities haven't historically been expected," Haddon explains. "The average tip at full-service restaurants dropped to 19.3 percent for the three months that ended September 30 and hasn't budged much since, according to Toast, which operates restaurant payment systems."

Haddon adds, "The decline highlights a bind restaurants find themselves in, as they face rising costs of ingredients and labor amid customer frustration over spiraling bills.

Americans, according to Haddon, "have become increasingly grumpy about dining out."

"Many have recoiled at menu prices that have risen sharply in recent years, and are going out less and ordering less when they do," Haddon reports. "Some restaurants have added mandatory gratuities and service fees to bills, driving up bills and resulting in some diners tipping less."

Washington-based doctor John Reilly told the WSJ that consumers are fed up with rising prices in restaurants.

Reilly observed, "Restaurants have not been doing well here in D.C., and price definitely has much do with it."

Jenni Emmons, a server in a Chicago restaurant, believes that the tipflation trend is hurting her ability to earn a living.

Emmons told the WSJ, "I can see tipping culture in the U.S. cracking. People are being pressured to tip for things they didn't used to, and I feel my income is under threat because of this.”

Read the full Wall Street Journal article at this link (subscription required).

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