Tip Me! This Mandatory ‘Extra’ Needs To End!

Tip me! Everybody in America wants a tip and it’s wayyy out of control.

Current Events :
The original idea of a tip was a “gratuity” — a little extra thank you for a service worker doing something extraordinary or for providing an exemplary experience (for example, a waiter convincing the kitchen to change your penne pasta dish with vodka sauce to fettucini alfredo with chicken for the same price). However, at some point, tips morphed into a requirement that allowed employers to pay their workers peanuts while customers were expected to mandatorily make up the difference.

Once upon a time, tips were an etiquette that existed primarily for restaurant workers, and taxi and car service drivers. Nowadays, fast food workers, take-out restaurants, and even landlords are pressuring everyone for a tip.

Take a look below at where we are as a society regarding tipping etiquette, as well as some of the crazy expectations people and places have created to strongarm an additional 20% to 40% out of you.

A woman and her boyfriend entered a restaurant in Austin, TX, and were greeted with a sign that said “Please Seat Yourselves.” After sitting at a table, she noticed another sign that instructed her to scan a barcode for the menu and then place her own order using her own phone. Sometime thereafter, someone from the kitchen brought out the food — and a bill that requested a tip.

According to Taryn Lamb, she never saw a single human face until her food was brought to the table. Naturally, she wondered what service was provided that warranted a gratuity.

At Sansan Chicken in New York, TikTok user @foodbabyny was surprised to be met by a woman working remotely who was taking orders via Zoom.

She placed her order and was prompted to swipe her credit card on the screen. Oddly, she was first prompted to leave a tip — but for what??

According to the New York Times, the Sansan staffer was 1 of 12 virtual dining assistants taking orders from their homes in the Philippines. A company called Happy Cashier runs the service and pays these “assistants” $3 per hour to do everything from greeting customers to coordinating delivery orders. With the low salary, the company expects its customers to tip the virtual workers handsomely.

Many restaurants provide a “suggested tip” option on the screen when customers swipe their credit card. However, one restaurant tried to pull a fast one by covering up the portion of the screen that permits customers to choose an option for No Tip.

At yet another restaurant, a customer selected the “No Tip” screen option — but was greeted with a message designed to guilt him into leaving a gratuity.

“It looks like you left $0.00 for the tip,” the screen prompt read. That might be an accident. Would you like to leave a tip?”

Some restaurants have started a practice of asking for 2 separate tips. One for the person who waited on you and another to “buy a round” for the kitchen staff.

A consumer recently placed an online order for retail merchandise — and was met with a screen to add a tip to show support “for the team at Jammy Job.” WHY???

According to popular TikTok creator, The Last Gossip (@thelastgossip), a woman arrived at her massage appointment only to be met by a clerk who demanded a tip in advance of the massage. No tip, no massage.

At an undisclosed Best Western Hotel, a customer snapped a photo on the elevator that displayed a bar code for guests to digitally provide a tip for random staff members.

A park asked visitors to provide a tip for the “beauty” of the scenery. Was this money supposed to go to Mother Nature?

And finally, the boldest example of tipping being out of control comes from a landlord who asked his residents to add a tip to their monthly rent bill.

Another landlord even went as far as to write a letter to his residents to explain how tips could get their service requests answered quicker — but no guarantees.

With this type of tipping madness going on in America, it’s no wonder we’re all becoming exhausted from the out-of-control “Tip Me” culture.

OK WASSUP! covers Current Events:
American tip culture either needs fixing or to end.