Not too long ago, tipping was a gesture of appreciation: a way to say “thank you” for exceptional service. But those days are long gone – today’s tipping culture has morphed into an oppressive system that offloads payroll costs onto consumers while weaponizing social pressure to extract ever-larger “voluntary” payments.

Tipping in the United States dates back to the early 20th century. Initially controversial and even considered un-American, the practice was seen as a form of bribery and a threat to democratic ideals. However, over time, tipping became deeply ingrained in the American service industry, particularly in restaurants. The federal minimum wage for tipped workers has been stuck at $2.13 per hour since 1991. Employers are supposed to make up the difference if tips don’t bring workers to the regular minimum wage, but enforcement is spotty at best. This creates a system where servers depend on tips not as bonus income, but for basic survival.

This dependence transforms customers from patrons to consumers who now bear the burden of mitigating wage suppression. We know our server’s ability to pay rent depends on our generosity, so we tip well regardless of service quality. This pressure to help support waiting staff pushes customers to tip larger sums of money while helping cut costs for employers. The waiting staff deals with the other short-end of this stick; the US Department of Labor describes a tipped employee as anyone who earns more than $30 in tips per month. This leaves many waiters who face financial struggles, dealing with an incredibly low minimum wage simply because of a low threshold to qualify as a tipped employee. 

Restaurants may have been the first to raise the tipping system dilemma, but with new technology and point-of-sale (POS) payment systems even your average coffee shop will swivel their tablet around to ask for an 18%, 20%, or even a 25% tip on a latte. If you’ve ever faced that large screen and decided you did not want to tip, get ready to hit “custom amount” and then “$0.00” while the cashier watches. Companies build these tipping systems to induce a feeling of obligation, taking away from the original premise of a tip and what the system sought to promote in the first place. Rather than incentivizing employees to perform at their best, our culture today leaves waiters scrambling and frustrated to earn a livable wage while customers feel burdened and used. In fact, studies show that there is very little correlation between tips and service quality, and employers should incentivize their employees in alternative ways. 

Tipping is so ingrained in American culture and we tend to do it a lot more than other countries. Historically, weaker unions might explain why tipping is so ubiquitous, allowing business owners to exploit cheaper labor. Moreover, tipping has also slowly increased. Before the pandemic, the common tip amount was around 15-20% while today many tablets include 25% tip recommendations. This phenomenon is commonly called tipflation. A number of reasons explain this increase, including new technology like the POS systems that receive a cut of the profits, thus encouraging higher tips. These platforms are also a huge reason tipping has spread to more stores and service areas. General economic changes, such as inflation, are also causing the percentage value of tips to increase as prices rise. Ultimately, these increases have just pushed customers to take on larger burdens and tip in places they haven’t had to before. 
Many waiters do make much more than the allotted monthly $30 to qualify as a tipped employee. However, Current Population Survey (CPS) data found that median hourly earnings for waiters and bartenders is only $10.11 per hour, including tips. We need to reconsider the system we use to support our service workers – placing the responsibility onto the customer isn’t a solution. People shouldn’t have to worry about whether their tip is enough to give their waiter a sustainable income. Rather, employers should be obligated to consider their staff. The tipping system is such a common custom to Americans, and as it increases, customers are facing greater and greater burdens as tip quantities rise. But when it starts to shift pressure on customers into turning a voluntary act into an obligatory one, we need to rethink where we draw the line.