Perhaps you’ve noticed. We have reached a tipping point in the country over tipping.
To tip or not to tip has led to Shakespearean soliloquies by customers explaining why they refuse to tip for certain things.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, customers were grateful for those who seemingly risked their safety so we could get groceries, order dinner or anything that made our lives feel normal. A nice tip was the least we could do to show gratitude.
But now that we are out about and back to normal, the custom of tipping for just about everything has somehow remained; and customers are upset.
A new study from Pew Research shows most American adults say tipping is expected in more places than it was five years ago, and there’s no real consensus about how tipping should work.
I tip barbers like taxi drivers where I throw in an extra £1 if I’m paying in cash. I think this makes me eccentric in the UK though; not sure it is normal to tip them. Usually don’t bother adding a tip if paying by card.
Restaurants have recently started adding a discretionary 10% service charge to bills in my city but that is the tip. Wouldn’t tip more than that. If they don’t include it in the bill I try to work out something like 12% from quick mental maths and add that on.
I’ve noticed the till checkouts have options to tip in some shops now but have never given any tips via the prompt.