Even Industry Workers Agree That Tipping Culture Is Out of Control

The debate over where and when to properly tip has reached a new… tipping point. Now, many industry workers agree with customers — tipping culture has gone out of control.

A new survey conducted by CouponBirds found that 76.1% of consumers believe tipping has “gone too far.” While many consumers have begun to voice their disagreement with tipping culture, this study now reveals how workers feel.

In this study, service workers agreed that tipping culture has gotten out of hand. However, the survey also revealed that these service workers — many of whom rely on tips — would rather receive a higher minimum wage.

This latest study comes as consumers continue to tackle what is now known as “tipflation.” Tipflation is thought to have begun during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, more consumers have noticed a growing trend of more businesses asking for tips.

Many of these businesses began to ask for tips because of the cost of living increases. This tipflation, however, quickly led to consumer backlash. Now, many customers are stating they have begun to experience tip fatigue.

Possibly the most frustrating issue for consumers has been the growing trend of self-checkout kiosks asking for a tip. Many customers don’t believe they should tip when an employee isn’t there providing service.

CoupondBirds’ new study surveys how service workers feel about tipflation. As cost of living expenses have risen just in the last few years alone, many workers now rely on tips to get by.

According to CouponBirds, many service workers have also noticed a great change in tipping, culture thanks to recent developments like tipflation. About 73.7% of workers have noticed consumers are tipping less than they used to.

Many service workers also revealed they have great wage theft worries at their place of employment. When surveyed, 87.8% of workers said they underreport the amount of tips they receive while working.

While many service workers polled admitted tipping culture has gone out of control, even more stated they support a raise in minimum wage. According to the study, 99.9% of all service workers polled support such an increase.

This study also took a look at the idea of mandatory service charges. These types of charges are mandatory for consumers to pay. For example, instead of making a tip an option, they make it mandatory upon checkout. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean an employee’s tips will be increased — as the charge could go to any area of the workplace.

Of all service workers polled, certain industries saw fewer tips coming in, thanks to tipflation and tip fatigue. Taxi and transport services have been the most affected in recent years, as 87.8% of these workers have seen fewer tips.