Why Has Tipping Gotten So Out of Control?
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YEET Magazine
Why Has Tipping Gotten So Out of Control?
Tipping has gotten out of control because the technology of payment changed before the norms of tipping did. When the payment screen offers 20%, 25%, or 30%, the customer is being asked to make a decision that used to be private and is now public.
Digital payment systems have made tipping prompts standard across categories that never used to involve tipping: coffee shops, food trucks, retail counters, and online orders.
The result is a form of social pressure. The screen is visible to the worker. The default options are high. The customer is being watched.
Behind the tipping pressure is a larger issue: wages. Many service workers rely on tips because their base pay is low. The customer is being asked to subsidize a wage structure that should be the employer's responsibility. For related discussions, see why your paycheck feels smaller every year and why rent is so expensive everywhere.
What do you think? Should tipping be abolished? Share your thoughts.
Source: YEET Magazine