Public opinion of tipping service providers is continuing to trend in a negative direction, according to a recent survey from Bankrate.
The financial analysis and comparison site commissioned a survey of more than 2,400 adults in the U.S. to get their honest opinions about tipping culture in 2024.
What surveyors found is that Americans are more than a bit frustrated by the constant requests for tips.
The survey showed that 59% of Americans have an overall negative view on tipping — which is actually down from a similar survey from 2023. More than 1 in 3 (35%) say tipping culture itself has gotten “out of control.”
Hidden Tax
Many of of those who said they had a negative opinion felt that businesses should simply pay their employees better instead of passing the buck to the consumer, with some saying they would be willing to pay more for their product just to avoid tipping altogether.
Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said tipping has become a “hidden tax” that allows workers to make more money without their employers raising wages or prices.
“Many companies are hesitant to raise prices further, given all of the increases we’ve seen in recent years, but asking for tips can essentially be a way for them to raise prices without acting like they’re raising prices,” Rossman said.
“It’s going to ask you a couple questions.”
Others also voiced their frustration about digital tip screens that have pre-entered tip totals before the transaction is even completed.
As much as 34% of people find those screens annoying, with a quarter of those respondents saying they are actually likely to tip less if presented with a pre-entered tip field versus 14% who are likely to tip more.
Who is most likely to tip?
Despite the overall negative opinion regarding tipping, some of the classic tipping institutions still have strong support. Most Americans (67%) say they are willing to tip servers at sit-down restaurants, and more than half of those surveyed say they tip other service providers like hairstylists and barbers and people who deliver food to their doors.
Age and gender appear to also be contributing factors in a person’s opinion regarding tipping. Willingness to tip was lowest in the younger generations and higher in the older generations.
Only 35% of Gen Z who go to sit-down restaurants always tip, compared with 56% of Millennials, 78% of Gen X and 86% of Baby Boomers. Oddly enough, older generations have more negative opinions on the practice of tipping than their younger counterparts.
Women are also more likely to tip than men, the survey found. At sit-down restaurants, 71% of women said they always tip compared to 63% of men.
One thing that most respondents could all agree on was that tips were affected by the quality of service they receive.
A majority of people (64%) say the amount they tip is based off the quality of service they receive, while 10% of people say they always tip the same amount regardless of the service they received.
Rossman said consumers should probably get used to the current tipping culture, calling it a “hot-button issue that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.”
The complete Bankrate survey touches on other topics, including which professions are seeing fewer tips these days, as well as “tips on tipping” to help consumers plan and navigate the current tipping environment.
To read the full survey results and methodology used, click here.