People are a little bit stingier in barber chairs and Ubers than they were just a few years ago.
The shares of adults who say they always tip their hair stylists, servers at sit-down restaurants and food delivery people have each fallen 8 percentage points since 2021, according to a Bankrate survey released Wednesday. That rate slipped 7 percentage points for taxi and ride-hail drivers over the same period.
Three years ago, the economy was reopening from the pandemic and inflation was higher than it is now, but so was concern for front-line workers.
At the time, three-quarters of consumers reported always tipping restaurant servers, but today just two-thirds do. Despite modest upticks since last year, barely more than half of people now count themselves reliable tippers of hairdressers (55%) and food delivery drivers (51%), while only 41% say the same when it comes to ordering a ride.
The survey reflects Americans’ growing ease bypassing ubiquitous tipping prompts, from coffeeshops to airport terminals in the post-Covid economy, especially as sticker prices have risen. While consumer spending has held remarkably steady, many households are feeling the squeeze from persistent inflation and tightening their belts accordingly. Some of that newfound caution may be factoring into when, where and how much people tip.
There’s an expectation that you tip, right or wrong. If you don’t tip, you’re just screwing them, not the boss.
If you want to change it, screwing the worker is not the best path.
I didn’t say you would be screwing the boss. What you are doing by tipping is letting them away with it. I understand the expectation, I think it shouldn’t exist, I think it’s wrong. I also refuse to take a job like that which I believe IS the way to change it.
Going and not tipping is still letting them “get away with it” because they still make their money. The person who makes less is the worker who served you the food. The owner still gets their money. If you want to hit the boss in the pocket book, you don’t go to places that rely on tipping their workers. That’s how you put pressure on the owner.