eli5 How did the US service industry become so reliant on consumer tips to function?
In: 5994
I think part of the reason why it has accelerated so rapidly lately is because of merchants using new software like Square. I don’t know much about Square, but it seems like it is just set up for almost any generic business, so what you see with it when you’re making a purchase, is that regardless of whatever kind of transaction it is, you have the option (as the merchant) to have it ask the customer if they want to include a tip. You could be buying meats at a deli and the software will still ask this.
As a result, consumers start asking themselves “*well, I’ve never tipped for this before… should I tip? Is this the sort of transaction other people normally tip for?*” and so lately we’ve been seeing people tip for all sorts of things that we don’t normally and shouldn’t normally tip for. On top of that, some merchants/software provide the math for the consumer to take the guesswork out “*Tip? 10% would be X$, 15% would be Y$, 20% would be Z$*” except lately we’re seeing a lot more of those texts starting at 20% and going upwards instead of 10% or 15%.
Bottom line: have a standard metric for yourself about what kind of transaction you think are tippable, and how you determine how you tip. Standard has always been 15% for standard service. Don’t let merchants sway the culture towards higher tipping amounts, as this will continue to mask the bigger issue of poor wages for working people.
**Edit because of some of the comments**:
Anyone tipping 25% for substandard service, ask yourself this: *is the service so good that I’d be willing to pay 5 meals’ worth to give one back?* Because that’s essentially what you’re doing. If you buy the same Starbucks drink everyday, then when you’ve bought your 4th drink, you’ve actually paid for 5. Is the act of making your coffee and then putting it on the counter worth that much?
If you find people giving you shit for not tipping 20% for standard or even substandard service (not good service), then you need to turn the tables on them; give them shit. Ask them if they support people who work in services that traditionally have been tipped. They will certainly respond “*yes I do, that’s why I tip 20-25%!*” at which point you can point out to them that by tipping so much, they perpetuate the culture of paying those employees substandard wages, so that the consumer has to subsidize the employers wages so that they can get away with not paying those employees livable wages. Sure, the short fix for underpaid employees is for us to tip more, but you’re just going to make it worse for the next generation of tipped workers, as well as the consumers. Both will become ever more reliant on each other, while companies get to walk away with the profits saved by grossly underpaying their employees.
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