Tipping is a very American concept – most people around the world aren’t expected to tip, because employers elsewhere are expected to actually pay a living wage to workers in the service industry. Tipping culture has been expanding fast, too, and now it’s not just waiters, bartenders or hairdressers you’re expected to tip. More and more establishments where you wouldn’t normally tip are asking for something extra at checkout, and people are even being asked to tip self-checkout machines with no human interaction.
Due to these recent developments, nearly 9 in 10 Americans think tipping has gotten out of control, according to a new WalletHub survey. The survey asked about a variety of topics, such as when people believe they should have to tip, whether they feel pressured to do so, and how they think gratuities should be split.
Key Stats
- Tipping Point: Nearly 9 in 10 Americans think tipping culture has gotten out of control.
- Passing the Buck: Nearly 3 in 5 Americans think businesses are replacing employee salaries with customer tips.
- Service Fee Ban: 83% of people think automatic service charges should be banned.
- Tax the Tips: More than 1 in 4 Americans think tips should be taxed (as they are now).
- Tip Suggestion Effect: Nearly 3 in 10 Americans tip less when they’re presented with a tip suggestion screen.
- Rate, Don’t Tip: 40% of people believe tipping should be replaced by an instant employee rating system so businesses can decide how much to pay their staff.
Ask the Experts
To gain further insight on tipping culture and how it has expanded, we posed the following questions to a panel of experts. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses.
- Do you agree with the majority of Americans who think tipping culture is out of control?
- How does the recent expansion of tipping culture impact consumers and workers?
- Should people be obligated to tip or should tips be entirely voluntary due to good service?
- Should automatic service charges be banned?
Ask the Experts
Lecturer, Recruiter and Program Director – University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management – Oklahoma State University
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Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management, College of Business – Austin Peay State University
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M.S., MA, CHE. – Online Adjunct Chef/Professor – Johnson & Wales University, College of Professional Studies/College of Hospitality Management/College of Food Innovation & Technology
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Ph.D. – Carney Family Endowed Professor, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Isenberg School of Management – University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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Professor, Department of Hospitality Leadership (Retired) – Missouri State University and Past President, International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education
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Full Survey & Responses
| Are businesses replacing employee salaries with tips? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 55% |
| No | 45% |
| Do you tip more or less when you’re presented with a tip suggestion screen? | |
| About the same | 59% |
| Less | 29% |
| More | 12% |
| Should automatic service charges be banned? | |
| Yes | 83% |
| No | 17% |
| Do you think tipping culture has gotten out of control? | |
| Yes | 86% |
| No | 14% |
| Do you think tips should be split among all employees or only the ones who interacted with the customers? | |
| Only those who interacted with customers | 77% |
| All employees | 23% |
| Do you often leave a tip because of social pressure rather than deserving service? | |
| Yes | 51% |
| No | 49% |
| Should tipping be replaced by instant employee rating, so businesses can decide how much to pay their staff? | |
| No | 60% |
| Yes | 40% |
| Should tips be taxed? | |
| No | 71% |
| Yes | 29% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of 200 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by gender and income so that the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
WalletHub experts are widely quoted. Contact our media team to schedule an interview.