I think tipping culture is going bonkers, and conversation about it has become really divisive. So, you won’t find any consensus. But I can tell you what I’m doing:

I used to do 18% pretty much everywhere that asked. But because things have gotten crazy (way more businesses types now asking for tips, supposed minimum tip percentages rising, shady tip pooling practices, servers having to tip out other staff, etc.), I’ve changed my tune.

Default 15%, even if I have to tap several buttons to make that happen. If I can’t input a 15% manually into a machine with relative ease (some machines make you choose default percentages or input a specific tip amount when you don’t want to use the default options), then I can do 10% math in my head easily and that’s what they get. If I am standing when I pay or if I pay before I get food/service, you getting 5% max.

I’ve realized that while my pay isn’t indexed to inflation, tips are: as menu prices have risen, so have the tips. So, an 18% tip last year was less money than an 18% tip today. Hence why I have lowered my default to 15%. I’d be happy to return to a higher tip once my own wages catch up with inflation, but until then it won’t happen. And with beer prices around the city jumping nearly $2 per pint from last year, the 20% “minimums” make no sense at all.