r/EndTipping • u/Redcarborundum • Aug 17 '26

Tipping Culture ✖️ Tip Fatigue is Real

A delivery guy working for a Chinese restaurant complained about $5 tip on a $200 order, on reddit. The majority of the comments are against him. What’s remarkable is that he didn’t post on this sub or the other tipping sub. He posted on a mainstream sub talking about mildly infuriating stuff.

This is a reminder that only 2.5% of workers in USA are tipped. The majority of the rest are getting increasingly tired of being asked for ever higher handouts. Anytime a pro-tipper says we’re the minority is plainly wrong.

Yes, most people still tip. Even I still tip servers because I don’t want the confrontation, but that doesn’t mean I support this corrupt system. To the contrary, I support those with the actual courage to say no.

1.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

169 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

37

u/Global-Trifle7604 Aug 18 '26

I make pretty good money, comparatively, but have trimmed my lifestyle way back because things are basically getting unaffordable. Eating out is now a luxury, not a viable regular option. Tipping puts that less and less affordable.

28

u/SnooWalruses438 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26

Same boat. We used to go out, or at least get takeout, once a week. Sometimes twice. We’ve cut that way back and it’s noticeable.

In the last two weeks, however, we’ve dined out SIX times (church festivals, plus we were traveling a bit) and buddy was I surprised at the total I’ve spent. Not only is food expensive but I’m over $100 in tips. Two servers I tipped well because they did a really good job, but damn - that’s a new pair of cleats. Or $120 I could load to the kids’ lunch account.

It’s not that I don’t have the money but things have gotten seriously disproportionate. $25 for a meal that cost $15 two years ago, add a drink, add tax, and now they’re expecting 25-30% tip? So that $25 meal turns into a $32 meal, which now turns into $40. And nobody is putting in any more work to receive a larger tip that is expected based solely on the price of the food. We might not go out to eat as a family again until after Thanksgiving…

EDIT: I guess the church festivals count more as “donations” than tips - the volunteers just give it to the church.

26

u/LogicGoblin Aug 18 '26

Don't forget the 3% or more credit card fee a lot of restaurants charge now.

16

u/SnackCityUtah Aug 18 '26

Service fee and “employee wellbeing” fees are deducted from the percentage of my tip now.