Nearly 9 in 10 Americans Are Fed Up With Tipping, According To a New Survey

Food & Wine ^ | Mar 20, 2025 | Nicolette Baker

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Everyone has an opinion on tipping. Whether you add a standard 20% across the board or hate a tipping screen “on principle,” you might’ve noticed those opportunities popping up more frequently these days.

Nearly nine in 10 Americans think tipping culture has gone too far — a sharp increase from the around 75% who thought the same last year. That’s according to a new report from personal finance company WalletHub, which examined Americans’ current attitudes toward gratuity. Survey respondents shared their views on this tricky subject, and it shows just how annoyed (and ultimately confused) Americans might feel about adding an extra 20%.

“Tips have gone far beyond traditional establishments, which include sit-down restaurants, bars, and hair salons. Now, it’s everywhere you look,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo tells Food & Wine. “I think that’s part of the frustration, because people are at a point where they don’t know who to tip and how much to tip.”

Lupo says that if these survey results tell us anything, it’s that Americans are “fed up” with increased tipping opportunities.

“You’re tipping for personal service. If you have a cup of coffee pushed to the end of the counter or someone’s handing you a bag of fast food through a drive-thru window, that’s not traditionally what tipping should be about,” Lupo explains. “If they feel like these tipping screens are invasive, these respondents say they’ll tip less or not even tip at all.”

A little less than half of Americans agree that tipping should be replaced altogether by an employee rating system. Still want to show your gratitude, yet don’t know where to add an extra tip? Lupo recommends tipping when possible for services (especially at restaurants and hair salons), as well as toward hotel hospitality, rideshare and cab drivers, and housekeepers...

[Svartalfiar]

I don’t like having to provide a tip prior to receiving food or services.

If you pay first, I generally don't add tip. Unless it's a place I go to regularly, then I'll normally add a dollar or two.

[Svartalfiar]

Maybe it depends on where you live, but 20% is considered standard for tipping now, and has been for about 10-15 years.

Everywhere I know, standard's been 15% for a long time. Though most still aren't sure how it changed from 10%...

[Svartalfiar]

The big problem with tipping nowadays is that the base price is so high. Burger joints now charge $11, $12, $15 for a burger. Fries are $5 more. Plus $3-4 for the large sweet tea. Entire meal is $20 before tax or tip, when five years ago it was $8-10 for the whole meal. Regular beers like Shiner used to be $3-4, maybe $2 on happy hour. Now it’s $6-7 most places.

When meal prices have doubled or more, suddenly you’re spending a lot more on the tip also, and that’s the big thing I think that hurts. On top of idiots like this author thinking the standard 10, maybe 15% tip is now suddenly 20% as a minimum tip....