Tipping Fatigue and Wage Disparities Fuel Resentment Towards US Tip Culture

In the United States, tipping has gone beyond simply expressing gratitude for service; it’s become a deeply ingrained cultural expectation that extends far beyond restaurants and bars. However, as inflation rises and living costs mount, so too does “tipping fatigue,” with more Americans admitting they would leave no gratuity at all after receiving poor service. A recent poll by YouGov found that over half of respondents said they’d do just that, reflecting a growing resentment towards the established economic practice known as guilt tipping. This mounting frustration has been further fuelled by ongoing wage disparities and rising living costs, with 75% of Americans expressing concerns about America’s increasingly unmanageable tipping culture in a WalletHub survey released earlier this year. Over half suspect that businesses are offsetting employee wages using customer tips. In another poll conducted by CouponBirds, an online consumer platform, nearly 80% said they found it “going too far” when self-service machines asked for gratuities in places where tipping was once uncommon. As a result of this frustration, most diners now leave less than the traditional 18-20% after eating out at restaurants, according to new research from Pew Research Center’s survey on US tipping culture, which also revealed that just over half consistently tip their bartenders. The same study highlighted widespread annoyance with “tipflation,” as a majority of respondents reported feeling pressured into leaving tips in more places than they did five years ago.