You’re checking out at your favorite retail store or coffee shop when the worker flips their tablet to you, silently prompting a tip — even though you didn’t receive any notable service. They smile and say, “It’ll just ask you a question,” as the tablet turns towards you.
Suddenly, you’re wondering what the appropriate amount to tip is, while feeling an uncomfortable mix of guilt, pressure and confusion. Each second ticks by, a line begins to form behind you, and the employee shifts their eyes away, waiting.
Tipping culture or “tipflation” is a new term, defined as businesses and their employees requesting an increased amount of tips for their services.
Research from Pew Research Center in 2023 shows that over 70% of U.S. adult consumers have noticed an increase in tipping expectations since the pandemic. This shift is occurring across different service settings, impacted by factors like technological changes in tipping.
Service industry workers like baristas and bartenders often rely on tips to make a living, but for customers who are prompted to tip a percentage on a tablet for even the smallest transactions, it may feel discouraging or excessive.
Most service businesses use platforms such as Square, which provide customers the ability to tip digitally, commonly in 15%, 20% or 25% increments, with the option to add a custom tip or choose no tip.
“I would say some people intuitively will click the 20% [tip] — that’s pretty standard,” Amber Jansson, former barista at Guru Donuts, said. “I’ve noticed the older generation will be less inclined to tip, especially in my job, since we make coffee quickly and it’s a very quick interaction.”
Jansson pointed out that although the transaction is quick, customers often don’t see the preparation that goes into a typical shift, which may explain why they don’t consider leaving a tip.
“They aren’t seeing all the behind-the-scenes work that we do,” Jansson said. “They just see us make a coffee and hand it to them, so they feel less obligated to tip.”
For college students like Jansson, who works 20-25 hours a week, tips are a crucial part of her income.
“Tipping is definitely something that I rely on in terms of making those payments,” Jansson said. “This is my only income as of now, because I’m a full-time student, so I’m not able to work a ton of hours.”
Today, it seems consumers are often asked to tip for service tied to the most simple tasks, whether it’s a concession worker grabbing overpriced water from the merchandise refrigerator at a sporting event or having a pre-made sandwich handed to you at a cafe.
The rise of tipping culture has sparked backlash, with memes and videos on social media increasingly poking fun at how excessive tipping has become in America.
“It’s becoming almost a joke,” Jansson said. “Working in the service industry, It’s funny, but at the same time, it’s hard in my position because it looks like I’m not doing a ton of work, but behind the scenes, we’re doing all this cleaning, prepping and making the food. It makes people not want to tip because they don’t think about that stuff and they just think about how everyone’s asking for a tip.”
Other service workers like Shai Murray, a table-side server at Barbacoa, said on some days he can make around $30-35 per hour on tips, which makes up about 80% of his income. His earnings fluctuate depending on factors such as the number of tables served and how personable he is with the customers.
“Some days I go in and I know I’m doing my best and it just doesn’t happen,” Murray said. “[Other] days I’m like ‘wow, I’m off today’, and they’re just throwing money at me — obviously there’s going to be a relationship between quality and how much you’re getting tips, but a lot of it really comes down to luck [and] what type of people you have [serve].”
In situations where a customer decides to leave a small tip or no tip at all, Murray said he tries to stay optimistic and maintain a positive attitude with other customers throughout his shift.
“You just have to take it on the chin and leave,” Murray said. “That’s all you can do. The worst thing you can do when you get stiffed is be mad … you can’t carry that [attitude] to your next table or you’re not going to make money.”
Data from a 2024 Popmenu study shows that around 60% of consumers say they are tired of being asked to tip for different services at various establishments and around 61% feel pressure to tip.
“I’d say [the request for tipping] is getting a little out of control, it’s starting to breach its way into places where I think it’s inappropriate to ask,” Boise State junior Calvin Arnold said. “If it’s going to go in that direction, we should just do something like a service fee.”
Arnold explained that he usually tips in situations where he’s already spending more than he normally would, like going out to eat.
“If I am out spending it in situations where I am tipping, it’s frivolity,” Arnold said. “Do I need [to have] Subway, or could I have just made a sandwich at home? If I’m already spending extra money on something that isn’t really necessary, you might as well go the extra mile, give them a tip, because you’re making their day better.”
Tipping in 2025 has, in many ways, become excessive, especially for those spending on a budget. There’s a difference between tipping to reward quality service and being prompted to tip for grabbing a bottled drink or serving yourself. When tipping becomes a routine request, no matter the service provided, it starts to feel less like gratitude and more like a digital demand.
In the end, it’s important to consider how responsible tipping practices affect different service industry workers — and who truly benefits from them.
