Summary
Tipping in U.S. restaurants has dropped to 19.3%, the lowest in six years, driven by frustration over rising menu prices and increased prompts for tips in non-traditional settings.
Only 38% of consumers tipped 20% or more in 2024, down from 56% in 2021, reflecting tighter budgets.
Diners are cutting back on outings, spending less, and tipping less. Some restaurants are adding service fees, further reducing tips.
Worker advocacy groups are pushing to eliminate the tipped-wage system, while the restaurant industry warns these shifts hurt business and employees.
Key cities like D.C. and Chicago are phasing in higher minimum wages for tipped workers.
Not tipping doesn’t fix the problem, it just hurts those barely getting by who are also victims of a shitty capitalist system.
Going Luigi on those furthering income inequality would be better.
You can look at what happens when you actually go Luigi by looking at what happened with Luigi. They’re the ones with the real guns and thanks to advertising dollars and social media ownership, control over the media narrative. Violence is the excuse they need to crack down.
But they can’t make us keep paying them.
We can do both. And the first encourages the second, as well as encouraging unions.
The whole threat of workers suffering without tips is the financial equivalent of terrorism. “Fork over the cash or these innocents get it”.
It needs to end, and it’s not going to end by giving into those demands.
Sorry, I don’t agree. I’ve worked hospitality and a lot of my friends work hospitality. A sudden dry spell of tips would mean unpaid medical bills, no clothes for a kid, no food on the dinner table, no gas to get to work. People have to try and budget just for the shortfall that typically occurs in January.
I’m not opposed to changing the system, but I think you underestimate how many people live day to day or week to week. Suddenly nobody tipping at all won’t magically make people unionize or their bosses pay more.
What needs to happen first are steps to kill the massive and ever-increasing wealth divide.
This isn’t a sudden dry spell though, it’s something that is slowly changing over the years. Part of that is because everyone is in financial pain right now. But that should be your expectation if you’re going into a job where your wages are dependent on how well others are doing, you should expect and prepare for the inevitable times where others aren’t doing great.
Yes, we need to solve that. But people just rolling over and accepting 30% tips at the self serve mini market isn’t the solution here.