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Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

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Across the country, there's a silent frustration brewing about an age-old practice that many say is getting out of hand: tipping.

Some fed-up consumers are posting rants on social media complaining about tip requests at drive-thrus, while others say they're tired of being asked to leave a gratuity for a muffin or a simple cup of coffee at their neighborhood bakery. What's next, they wonder — are we going to be tipping our doctors and dentists, too?

As more businesses adopt digital payment methods, customers are automatically being prompted to leave a gratuity — many times as high as 30 percent — at places they normally wouldn't. And some say it has become more frustrating as the price of items has skyrocketed due to inflation, which eased to 6.5 percent in December but still remains painfully high.

"Suddenly, these screens are at every establishment we encounter. They're popping up online as well for online orders. And I fear that there is no end," said etiquette expert Thomas Farley, who considers the whole thing somewhat of "an invasion."

Unlike tip jars that shoppers can easily ignore if they don't have spare change, experts say the digital requests can produce social pressure and are more difficult to bypass. And your generosity, or lack thereof, can be laid bare for anyone close enough to glance at the screen — including the workers themselves.

‘Paid what they’re owed’

Dylan Schenker is one of them. The 38-year-old earns about $400 a month in tips, which provides a helpful supplement to his $15 hourly wage as a barista at Philadelphia café located inside a restaurant. Most of those tips come from consumers who order coffee drinks or interact with the café for other things, such as carryout orders. The gratuity helps cover his monthly rent and eases some of his burdens while he attends graduate school and juggles his job.

Schenker says it's hard to sympathize with consumers who are able to afford pricey coffee drinks but complain about tipping. And he often feels demoralized when people don't leave behind anything extra — especially if they're regulars.

"Tipping is about making sure the people who are performing that service for you are getting paid what they're owed," said Schenker, who's been working in the service industry for roughly 18 years.

Traditionally, consumers have taken pride in being good tippers at places like restaurants, which typically pay their workers lower than the minimum wage in expectation they'll make up the difference in tips. But academics who study the topic say many consumers are now feeling irritated by automatic tip requests at coffee shops and other counter service eateries where tipping has not typically been expected, workers make at least the minimum wage and service is usually limited.

"People do not like unsolicited advice," said Ismail Karabas, a marketing professor at Murray State University who studies tipping. "They don't like to be asked for things, especially at the wrong time."

Some of the requests can also come from odd places. Clarissa Moore, a 35-year-old who works as a supervisor at a utility company in Pennsylvania, said even her mortgage company has been asking for tips lately. Typically, she's happy to leave a gratuity at restaurants, and sometimes at coffee shops and other fast-food places when the service is good. But, Moore said she believes consumers shouldn't be asked to tip nearly everywhere they go — and it shouldn't be something that's expected of them.

"It makes you feel bad. You feel like you have to do it because they're asking you to do it," she said. "But then you have to think about the position that puts people in. They're paying for something that they really don't want to pay for, or they're tipping when they really don't want to tip — or can't afford to tip — because they don't want to feel bad."

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  • Yes this has became a big problem I watched one guy at a Starbucks in my neighborhood that worked there press for the customer a $7.50 tip for an order that was only a little over $6 and everyone heard the customer say no tip and this guy pressed $7.50 the guy left didn’t notice but we all saw it a few minutes later came back and wanted a full refund for the coffee and the tip felt like he was robbed taken advantage of by this new system. I think it’s ridiculous. We have delivery guys in my neighborhood upper west side on Manhattan they will actually try to fight you for a tip at this restaurant we know as wok city on Amsterdam ave and west 67 st they demand tips and I mean they will follow you to your apt and bang on your door where’s my tip. This has gotten to be to much this is supposed to be a “if we want to give a tip” but we don’t have to so they need to change the law about that bc it is a problem especially when we are all struggling and have to pay taxes just to live in the city and work in the city we gotta tip in the city too! Next we will tip our bus drivers. Not for nothing aren’t we dishing out enough money right now to help support the migrants ? That’s not our job so we should get back what we dish out we tip we should get that back in our taxes then too!!!

    Tuesday, February 7, 2023 Report this