Consumer Tipping Sentiment 2023: How Your Gratuity Habits Compare by Generation
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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The concept of tipping, or gratuity, has been around for generations. Back in the Middle Ages, tipping was a custom practiced by Europeans. Basically, masters would tip their servants for excellent service. Wealthy Americans who visited Europe caught wind of the idea and brought the practice back to the U.S., initially to be embraced primarily by the rich, per 7Shifts.
Back then, not everyone liked tipping, particularly not those who were in favor of an egalitarian society.
“Tipping, and the aristocratic idea it exemplifies, is what we left Europe to escape,” William Scott penned in 1916. “It is a cancer in the breast of democracy.”
Tipping Culture Commonplace in Modern America
Fast forward more than a century later and tipping isn’t only common in the U.S., it’s built into the pay infrastructure of certain jobs. Everyone from restaurant waiters to car valet attendants may rely on customer tips to supplement their wages.
Seems simple enough, right? Alas, no. There’s a world of controversy out there about whether tipping is right, fair or justified. The controversy around tipping has intensified since expectations around the appropriate amount to tip have spiked in recent years. Many Americans feel that tipping culture has gotten out of control and that we’re being pressured into tipping workers more than what is reasonable — and that we’ve slipped into an age of “tipflation.”
With this sentiment often comes the argument that workers shouldn’t have to rely on tips to get by, and that they should be better paid.
Gen Z More Comfortable With Takeout Tipping Than Boomers, But Could Also Be Stingier?
A new survey by BentoBox shows that consumers are pretty split when it comes to how they feel about opening their wallet for a tip in a restaurant. Three-quarters (76%) of diners said they like the feeling of tipping, but nearly the same number of respondents (74%) said they would prefer to replace the practice of tipping with increased wages for restaurant workers.
Additionally, the survey found that 87% of diners think full-service meals deserve a tip, while over half of respondents feel this way about takeout and delivery.
The survey highlights some interesting generational takeaways. It found that 40% of baby boomers typically do not tip for takeout. And yet, only 16% of Gen Z said they don’t tip for takeout.
This information suggests that younger people are more accepting of high tipping expectations and current tipflation than older generations. It may also indicate that young folks are more in sympathetic to service industry wages. In many states, tipped workers are paid as little as $2.13 per hour in direct wages, with tips making up the balance.
But the situation is murky and complicated. Other research has found that Gen Zers are actually the stingier tippers, perhaps because they tend to earn less than older Americans and are more likely struggling with the higher cost of living.
“Just 35% of Gen Zers said they always tip when they go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant — compared to 83% of baby boomers surveyed,” The New York Post reported of survey results in June.
Is Tipping 20% the New Normal?
It looks like we’re still a long way away from making up our minds about how we want to collectively go about the custom of tipping. That said, there is a loose rule about how much we’re supposed to tip at a restaurant.
“Tipping 20% for a traditional dining experience is common practice at a full service restaurant,” said a BentoBox spokesperson. “In other situations, it’s not as cut and paste. The general rule of thumb is you should feel empowered to tip when you receive exceptional service, but not required.”
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