ST. LOUIS — It seems like shoppers are getting asked to tip at every opportunity, and it's causing real consumer burnout. A national company called Toast says "tipflation" has negatively impacted the service industry and its workers.
We asked an etiquette expert about the tipping norms in hopes of helping us make ends meet while tipping for our services.
Many restaurants depend on customer tips to cover their take-home pay. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13. The same federal tipped minimum wage regulation mandates that restaurant servers make an average hourly rate of $7.25 an hour. So if the tips plus the $2.13 don't add up to $7.25, then the restaurants have to make up the difference.
That can put pressure on gratuities, especially since consumers now see opportunities to tip at the coffee shop, the drive-thru or the pick-up line.
"I think that during COVID, we were really trying to take care of people in those jobs that were taking care of us," said Melenie Broyles of Etiquette Saint Louis. "I think we really elevated our tipping amounts. And what we have found is people are like, 'People's jobs are different, pay is different. Everything has gotten more expensive. So how do we do that without being disrespectful or not taking care of the people who serve us?'"
Broyles says she is generally a 20% tipper but thinks 15% is still acceptable. But more importantly, she has confidence when she should tip.
She says tipping for coffee is up to you, but sometimes it depends on how and what you order.
"You do not have to feel like you must tip in a drive-thru or a walk-up counter or especially someplace where they're just handing you an empty cup and you're going to get your own drink," said Broyles. She says she tips for specialty drinks, but there's no need to feel pressure to tip for a plain cup of coffee.
Broyles says there's etiquette for just about everything.
She says a car valet could be anywhere from $3 to $10 depending on how far the workers have to park your car. She also says tipping a hotel's cleaning staff depends on the length of your stay and how messy you are, $5 to $20. Food delivery could be 10 to 20 percent depending on the size of your order, but if you use a drive-up service, don't feel pressure to tip.
"Those are not tipping situations," said Broyles. "You would never tip an employee at Target for bringing something out of the back room. And so that's really what they're doing. They're bringing it back to your car in those circumstances. That's their job for the day."
So while tipping can be discretionary, remember in the US, it is also part of someone's compensation.
"Sometimes people will say, you know, 'I had bad service, so I'm going to leave a small tip or just a dollar or something to make a point.' And I never encourage you to do that," said Broyles. "Poor service, a long wait time might not be your server's fault. It might be the kitchen. It might be someone else. And so I always say, leave the standard tip."