How Tipping Culture Took Over the U.S. | WSJ 

I grew up in Europe. There they only expect tips for excellent service or, wait for it, if you're an American. They know perfectly well about our tipping culture. What's wrong with us Americans? I'm not the employer. Don't lay your payroll issues on me.

Tipping is considered an insult in some Asian countries especially Japan. It is considered pity or disrespect that the food you paid for was not enough, you are sort of treating their work more like street performance instead of the dignified and skilled work they know it is.

Tipping is an outdated business model. Workers should not be held hostage by the whims of each individual customer’s generosity. Pay the employees a adequate wage and raise the prices accordingly to ensure profitability.

Got my hair cut; The payment screen had a series of tipping options. The lowest was 20%. But 20% is already higher than the 15% which is normal for tipping. I don't use their services anymore.

An employer who lets employees depend on tips is not a good one.

I stopped dining out, and now only get takeout … with NO tipping!

I do not want to tip someone to literally hand me a premade food item out of a case or an already manufactured good.

When the server just STARES at you when the screen asks for tips has got to go 😤

This is where governments needs to step in and stop these psychological tricks like "price partitioning" on the consumers.

there was a restaurant where I went to where they had the tip automatically calculated as 20% on the bill (it wasn't an option, you had to pay for food + tip then tax). And then on top of that, they had a section asking how much you'd like to tip (additional tip). Honestly, tipping is important for the restaurant employees is important because many do need it since the wages doesn't cover. However, restaurants like the one I recently went to are starting to use this tipping culture to their advantage, which is one of the reasons why many people are starting to view it negatively.

I stopped at Baskin Robbins last week for an ice cream cone and I was given the tip screen with the option of tipping from 20% to 35%. I declined. The woman at the counter rolled her eyes and said how rude I was. Won't be going back to Baskin Robbins again. They pay their workers at least minimum wage. It was a single ice cream cone scope. I worked there in high school where getting a quarter in the tip jar was a success. I'm not giving them $2 extra for an ice cream cone.

I found myself avoiding businesses that expect me to tip staff. It's saved me a lot of money because I eat more home-cooked meals and cut my own hair.

America needs an all-inclusive legal clause. Where it is required by law to have the most visible price be the final price of a product or service. Inclusive of all fees and relevant taxes. That would solve some problems because what it sounds like is that price partitioning is the issue. That just what I think.

I’m annoyed but if it’s not a traditional sit-down restaurant, just don’t tip. It’s that simple.

Just say no. Only tip when dining in a restaurant. Period.

But when Europeans tell Americans that this is unacceptable and that it WILL go out of control we are told "if you cant afford to tip, DoNt cOmE hErE!". Absolutely ridiculous.

Just to make sure this tipping thing only exists in the US, other countries have better measures to tackle this

I just stopped tipping everywhere. It was uncomfortable at first, but now it’s just empowering. You have to just stop doing it.

Teachers and nurses should start asking tips too😅

And unfortunately this bad habbit spilled all over the world. In the netherlands tipping was never expected YET because companies use global POS systems there is now an automatic prompt asking for a tip. These people are paid a minimum wage of 14 EUR an hour!!!!

I tip drivers, delivery drivers and waiters. I don’t tip for fast food or other purchases. Tipping has gotten out of hand.

"I need to pay my employees more, but I don't want to raise my prices too much.."... and the solution is to outsource that to the generosity of the customers? Only someone from the US would say something like this and make it sound like the employeer is the nice guy here, realising they need to pay more, but then not doing so at all. Its a crazy country I'd never want to live in.

BLUF: Companies don’t want to pay higher wages, so they want you to do it through Tip.

I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job.

I will typically boycott most establishments that have 'guilt tip' screens.

These days I mostly pay cash on takeouts, and unapologetically decline tips everywhere else, unless it's my restaurant server or barber.

As a Chinese I just cannot understand American tipping culture. I wasn't getting any "service" at all other than getting my food on my table. Why should I tip for that but not for the chief who cooks my meals? And the service is oftentimes just average so there is no reason for any "reward". I bet you can easily get better service in Korea or Japan without paying any tips. If the restaurants aren't paying their staff enough then make them do so. Why is there a minimun wage standard if it is always not enough for people to sustain oneself with that?

I'm sorry but the adding 15% cost to restaurants is not needed. In Europe, food is cheaper at chain restaurants and you don't need to tip. The businesses just want to eat more profit. Starbucks is asking for tips when they are making massive profits.

the main reason why tipping is a Pandora's box in this country is because even if an establishment wants get rid of tips and pay a standard wage, the staff will leave and work elsewhere because they would make more with a tipped position. this is the real problem with tipping. it's not about restaurant margins or raising prices, its because tips = higher revenue and getting rid of tipping is suicide from a business owner perspective. i hate tipping because it introduces discrimination and bias, from a service and patron standpoint. tipping wont go away and it will only get worse. the only possible way to stop it is simply to... stop tipping when you pay.

I remember just before COVID me and my wife visited the US and the service is aggressive to the point where the customer is almost an inconvenience to them. I remember as a young man in the mid 90's America was genuinely easy going and friendly and the service was very nice (I wanted to leave a tip!!). These days, even hostile, pushy wait staff seem to expect 20%+ 'right off the bat' (to use an Americanism). I have always been a decent tipper because I worked in resto's myself in high school and college so I understand but I won't reward hostile service. Even worse, if any waiter or waitress mispronounces 'parmesan' then it's an instant ZERO TIP from me- unforgivable sin.

As an outsider, I've avoided visiting the US because of the tipping culture. It's just too stressful and makes things cost more than they seem.

Here is a better idea, pay people proper wages and stop tipping culture. To me this has gotten to ridiculous levels. The fact that tipping has nothing to do with providing great service anymore but rather a societal requirement makes no sense.

Wait a minute, WSJ: on a scale of 1 to 7, the difference between a 4.55 and a 4.95 rating is NOT THAT BIG ("overwhelming," in the narrator's words), so why do you intentionally baseline the chart (3:07) at a value of 4.4? Why, to skew viewers' perceptions, of course. What a cheap, obvious trick, one that certainly diminishes the point you were trying to make.

Modern American service culture is so so bad. Bottom of the barrel compared to countries like Japan, Thailand, France or Vietnam. What happened to America??

It not that hard to say no to a tip

There's no way only 1/3 of people are annoyed by the tip screens.

The problem is the hidden tips , like large group gets 20% tips automatically added to the bill but then they still ask for tips when your paying and when it’s all by credit card the information on what was already paid isn’t obvious.

WTH! The part at 3:02 where they had voluntary tipping compared to pricing with it built in, OF COURSE they're going to say the built in is higher because it's no longer optional! I'm sorry, that was just an absolutely stupid comparison. What really annoys me about all this is how people will say "Oh you should always tip your server 20%", but when it's between states that pay that $2.13 minimum (which is ridiculous) vs states like CA where it's $15+/hr, they STILL say that you should tip 20%. Get rid of that ridiculous $2.13 allowed in states, it's absolutely barbaric and ridiculous!

Tipping is completely out of control! This is also the case where places ask you for $1 to donate towards something and you feel guilty and do it....

When I first came to the US 30 years ago, I was told to tip about 10% of the bill, or leave some changes. Now, the minimum tip amount is 20%. At one of the restaruant, I was paying for take-out orders, their card transaction register did not even have an option for "no tip", but the minimum tip amount was 20%. How annoying! I do not even want to go to a restaurant anymore. It is so expensive that I have to pay for the food, but I also have to pay for taxes and tips. What makes me angry is that business owners seem to make customers to pay for their employees, instead they are paying enough wages for their employees. Once again, the rich get richer, and average middle class pays for the low wage employees and all the taxes in this country.

I simply stopped going to restaurants because of tipping.

Tipping is something I no longer do. It's time businesses pay their employees or fail.

Businesses can pay employees more without raising prices. Corporate greed is the problem

Why is it the customer's responsibility to pay for the workers' wages with tips? I do not understand the logic, "tipping is necessary because, in some states, servers do not even make minimum wage". Then wouldn't the solution to this tipping culture be to ensure everyone is paid minimum wage, hence the name of the wage. It is a business owner's responsibility to pay its workers anywhere else. Restaurants should increase their menu prices to cover that. The US is a capitalist economy. If the restaurant cannot afford to pay its workers, then it is a sign the establishment isn't doing well enough to stay in business. 20% being the minimum/standard is ridiculous. No one is entitled to a tip. A tip is earned, not given.

I never like tipping people in general. I never like giving people extra money for them to do their job.

We are at a weird stage in several places where the restaurants are paying "full wages" but servers still want 20% tips. Eff that. The transition is going to be annoying. Still worth it imo to get rid of tips

As a person who lives in a country without tipping, I don’t understand. Hidden costs are so infuriating. Why do people fall for them? In our country, hidden prices are illegal. The consumers in the US seem to love getting scammed and paying more later.

Get rid of tipping culture!

I stopped tipping all in all. Except for obviously tipping my barber, server, etc.

Where is your tip going? hourly worker or the business owner? - this is kind of a bigger question everyone ponders when they tip. Why do they have to run such a lengthy analysis of tipping? Don't we all know it's a common sense not to tip when you are shopping online or tipping at checkout counter? If only more people make fuss about it start to ban these businesses, then it's a justice served to actual hourly workers.

The person claimed to expert in tipping is asking wrong questions. Also he assumes you need to always tip same percentage and big business can't adjust there profits. Separate minimum wage for tipped worker provision should be removed. Then we can see proper picture.

Don’t get me wrong, I tip pretty well but tipping is pretty much the reason I never eat out or drink at the bar. My bar waiters friends brag to me how much that make in a single night off tips.

Recently I went to a local coffee shop. It took a while for them to attend me since they prioritize drive in customers. When it was my turn there was no hello, sorry for waiting, not even a smile…okay I can live with that. I have a thick skin. But what infuriates me is that they expect us to tip them. 🙄 by the way, the coffee shop is called The Coffee Bean.

SO SICK OF TIPPING! Absolutely everywhere in the US they are asking for tips. At my local coffee roasters, where they also make coffee drinks, there is a tip screen that always comes up when I buy my beans. I tip when a drink is made for me, but not just for buying beans! At my first hair stylist job, clear back in the early 80s, I worked with the owner of the salon, who never excepted tips. According to him, it was very poor taste to except tips when you own the establishment. Now people expect to get tipped just for doing their job! I hate the tip screens, they are trying to guilt you into tipping.

Singapore, japan: "NO TIPPING"

Small business owner here. I did an experiment where I pay good wages and price the menu accordingly. The experiment went downhill because nobody wants to pay $12 burger without tip but willing to pay $10 burger with $2 tip...plus the added benefits of getting negative reviews and customer threats ;)

Australia doesn't have a tipping culture. Australian employers pay their staff a decent wage and they are happy with that. If you need the generosity of strangers to survive then you are living off charity. If you don't have enough pride in your work to not do it properly unless you get a tip then look around for another job that pays better. Employers will soon wise up and pay more for quality staff.

I don't mind tipping voluntary to a service worker directly in cash if they do a good service BUT when a business asks for a tip, THEN tipping a business or any corporation when the owner already has enough wealth then that... pisses me off.

I don't think low-skill waitrons and gig workers realize that their massive senses of entitlement to high pay in spite of their low labor market value are driving automation in food service. The waitron who demands a 30% tip for doing the bare minimum can and already has been replaced by a robot in some places. The entitled pizza delivery driver who went viral for scoffing at a customer's 25% tip last year could be replaced by a drone. The Starbucks kiosk in Amazon Go will make you a 16 oz. mocha for $2.89, while Starbucks employees will charge you $6 for the same thing. I for one welcome our new robot/automated food service; imagine getting exactly what you ordered, promptly, with no attitude and no need for a tip.

Whether the worker isn't paid enough is NOT the customer's problem. This is how we see the thing in Europe ... and in most parts of the world. The service people should fight for their rights that WITHOUT considering that the customer should compensate for the employer's stinginess.

I usually tip at least 20% in sit-down restaurants. I will tip a little for take out or places where you order at the counter and bus your own table. I get mad when those places automatically suggest 18% 20% 25% tips. Passive-agressively suggesting such a high tip for a place where you literally have to clean your own table is absurd.

i am not tipping for to-go orders now. it’s getting too crazy.

In Japan, a worker would be offended if you tipped. They ALWAYS bring their "A" game to their job.

As a generous tipper I will only tip a server if I am in a sit-down dining restaurant where I don't have to perform any type of self service. If the restaurant has a mandatory tip they should have a clear sign before you sit and order and it should be clear print on menus before ordering.

I don’t tip anymore, anywhere. We’re not gonna get rid of tipping if it’s still practiced so.. I’m doing my part.

I think the only business that you should tip is your waiter or Waitress. I never tip bar staff though. I live in the UK now where we don't tip but thanks to contactless card readers its becoming a problem, although staff don't expect it here yet. I usually leave a 10% tip at family run restaurants but I don't at the chain restaurants. When I visit America tipping makes me feel very uncomfortable now, especially as when I visit with English family they start ripping you off.

First time I visited the USA, I was so confused about the tipping culture. Even though I didn't think I received good service from the server or employees, I had to tip them. And I felt a little uncomfortable when I tipped under 15% for takeout, because they could check how much % tip I gave them. In Korea, we only tip at high-end restaurants, like when a server helps customers cut their meat, or at hair salons I'm curious whether service workers prefer having a lower minimum wage and receiving tips, or having a higher minimum wage

i think just having the choice to tip is where it should end, ive seen places where they automatically add tip or only give options to tip and not decline. I hate having the choice taken away

Tipping culture is ridiculous

We don’t need to get rid of tipping, we need to get rid of the idea of tipping being mandatory.

Keep it simple. Tip when you are actually being “serviced.”

I don't care where the trend goes or how much they make, I just don't tip

$10 glass of beer and 20% tip? No.

Tipping was always for workers (servers and bartenders) that are paid sub-minimum wage, aka the "tipped minimum wage." When someone is already getting paid for their product or service, or all they're doing is handing you something from behind a counter for a full hourly wage, tipping should never be expected or required. If people collectively refuse to tip for non-tippable things, this absurdity will be brought to heel.

As a Korean, at least it does make sense to tip AFTER everything was served, as a compliment. But tipping even before starting to cook feels like almost a bribe, hostage(?).

Well said

If a vendor shows me a screen to click how much I want to tip, and I disagree with the tip, the vendor will watch me as I press the "No Tip" button. If this is the only way, the vendor will watch me diligently type "0.00" then press OK. Sorry, but that really is all I am supposed to do, as a customer, about this issue. I think people could be a little bit more confident about simply pressing the "No" button.

Aside from the tip, does the service charge also go to the workers with sub minimum wage?

No tip companies just need to pay what the workers are actually worth In todays world

Boycott on tipping, if restaurants dont want to pay living wages. Workers need to quit.

02:54 thats not how it works at all or at least its the worst solution i can think of. why dont you take those 15% off of the CEO's salary for example? for a researcher in this topic he really seems biased a ton. what do you mean, you dont see any kind of future without tipping? have you looked at other countries? have you ever even considered other solutions? because it doenst seem like it mister expert in tipping who wants to keep the wages below a living wage

Tipping is cool but it puts both the employees & the customers in an awkward position as the employee has to constantly depend on & expect a tip which can be embarrassing for some & the customers have to feel guilty if they barely can pay for food but just want a quick bite to eat before work but are expected to tip & if not feel guilty. I’ve even seen some people/workers say “if you can’t tip then you shouldn’t be there” etc. that’s a terrible business model! There is an 8% sales tax we all pay on every dollar we spend, a 1-3% property tax, cell phone taxes, tobacco tax, income tax of 10-37% & to top it off we have to pay 15-20% every time we go to a service based company! While at the same time these companies stocks & profits continue to rise while putting the burden of paying their workforce in the form of tips. I drive for Lyft occasionally & I never expect a tip nor do I even want my passengers to give one especially if they can’t afford it! The economics of tip culture has become so bad & predatory that I hardly go to restaurants or any service based businesses!

Asking for a tip is extremely rude

No one tips in Australia or New Zealand and it’s working great. Have y’all considered just paying people a living wage?

In Europe, its considered bad for the consumers to not know the total cost of goods or services upfront, thats why prices have all the taxes included, and food items need to show a price for unit and per weight or volume. People in the tipping survey should have been asked why they didn't want the prices to have "tips included". - perceived cost increase (seems least likely imo) - people think they get better service, if a customer has the option to pay only the minimun? - option to get "a discount" when needed. There most likely are a percentage of people who never tip, so basically they get lower prices than everyone else, and don't want the tipping based price increase

I hate the new screen tipping craze. I always say no and all it does is annoy me. I think worse if the establishment that introduces it. Sit down table service always gets a tip.

Anyone here go on long range sportfishing trips, out of San Diego ? Well, it's very expensive and not everyone that goes is rich. They suggest 20 percent for a tip. A ten day trip is about 4k, so you're expected to tip eight hundred bucks ! The price of these trips have just kept climbing over the years. The level of attention isn't the same for everyone, the wealthy regulars get special attention because they tip beyond the 20 percent. My last trip was to Guadalupe Island, and the permits alone were 700.00 bucks, and that was for a six day trip. Before I even boarded the boat, I had shelled out slightly under 4k !That didn't include the things you buy for the trip, parking, or a hotel room to stay in. Fish processing was another 735.00 dollars. The night before sailing home, we paid our tab, which may include any shirts, hats, jackets, or terminal tackle. As we're doing that , the captain reminds everyone abouting tipping and states, " Dig real deep." I paid my 20 percent on the base price of 3,200.00 dollars, but that was as tacky as it gets. I signed up for a trip the next year, but I just couldn't let the captain's remarks go. I dropped out of the trip and booked two fishing trips, one to San Felipe , Mexico, the other to the Amazon in Brazil. I followed tradition when it came to taking care of the fishing guides and support staff, then added extra on my gratuity. The guides and the staff were very happy. They wished me a safe trip home and hoped to see me again. Both trips were truly the "Trip of a Lifetime. " One of the things I didn't see in Mexico or Brazil was a "jackpot." We had our own side bets. The winner, or winners, keep their winnings. If they choose, they share it with their guides. I didn't win so I had nothing to share. In San Diego, on top of tipping, they even want the jackpot ! Where does it stop ? I love fishing and while haven't closed the book on going out San Diego, other destinations make it easier to take a pass. People do have a choice, keep sticking it to them and you'll soon find out.

The discriminatory law of defining tipped workers should go away.

Bruh, it's even worse in Canada in many provinces. When I went to Boston I asked the server what min wage was in Boston, and they told me that is around like $13USD in MA, while servers get like $6USD. In Ontario the minimum wage is $16.55CAD for ALL employees, servers or otherwise. So when I'm tipping server, I'm just asking myself why I'm paying them extra above the dude at the grocery store giving me my food from the hot table. It's not rocket science to take my order and carry the food back over to me.

I rarely tip; it’s been 2-3 years since the last tip.

I don't live in the US & i'm not American, but would it be fair to say i wouldn't like to give tips electronically because are they really gonna give those tips to the employees....it's like charity, the money you give to charity only 33% of the amount you put in is capitalized by the actual charity, like come on.

I went to the US a few times as a broken student. When the tipping screen came up, I always say: no tip, thank you. They looked at me like I killed a baby. Unfortunate but true. And sorry (not sorry). I was as broke (or more than they were)

What kills me is when the tip % includes the tax😂. So your tipping on the tax. Happens way more often than you think. This guy is obviously working for the restaurant industry in some way. All a tip says is that the company owner wants to make more profit by having you pay the employees instead of them.

In my country, tipping is only a thing for top tier excellence in service and it’s mostly attributed to food services. And because it’s not expected, it feels rewarding when you give a tip. In the US, tipping is like a tax and expected everywhere.

Easy because its outdated & not having minimum wage keep up

The lady doing the voice over has a beautiful voice. Her voice is really calm and relaxing.

Too many of us have been to Europe where employees are paid a living wage and don't expect tips.

Tips becomes a major obstacle of business development. Time to either standardize or cancel the tips

2/3 of Americans wanted to get rid of tipping since 1880s and here we are today!

What I don't understand - In this video, we're only being presented with two options. Option 1: menu prices are the same, we tip as normal. Option 2: menu prices are raised 15-18% so employers can afford to pay their staff. Here's my question, what about a 3rd option where the cost to employ your staff ISN'T passed wholly to consumers? Why do you HAVE to raise prices to pay your servers a liveable wage? ESPECIALLY chain restaurants with CEOs.