The Key Takeaways
- According to poll findings, Americans feel they are expected to tip in more places and at increasing amounts, a problem known as "tipflation."
- Some airport self-checkout kiosks ask for customers to tip when they are just buying a water bottle they've grabbed themselves. According to the travel website View From the Wing, a Texas hotel gave guests QR codes to tip the staff member who checked them into the room.
- According to experts, the current dynamic may not last for ever.
Have you ever been asked to leave a tip on a self check-out machine? It happens—and it might not be the most unexpected request you've received.
Pew Research has found that Americans are feeling more pressure to tip at a greater number of places, and with a higher amount. “tipflation.” It’s a common practice in restaurants. “suggested” tip percentages—on post-tax amounts, not the pre-tax levels to which many were long accustomed—at the bottom of bills.
There’s no way I am the only person who has experienced this. Travel site View From the Wing reported that the Bryan-based LaSalle, part of Marriott International’s (MAR), Tribute Portfolio hotel gave its guests a QR Code to tip the staff member who checked them into the hotel. Marriott has not responded to Investopedia’s request for comment. When I told friends and family about the problem, many of them offered stories such as:
- At a concert, a tip jar sat near the metal detectors. (In other words, "Take all your change out of your pockets…and leave it with me.")
- A $100 buffet at a hotel that added a 20% gratuity—then included an additional tip line on the check.
- A rideshare driver who accepted and then canceled a trip—and still asked the would-be traveler if he wanted to tip.
Any of these situations could have an explanation. The ridesharing request may, for instance, have been automatically generated. Taken together, though, Americans are feeling like they're getting hit up more—and for more—than ever. Some can't help but notice, though others may not blink at many of the requests.
"I suspect most people, when they see these screens, assume it must be the new norm," said Michael Lynn, the Michael D. Johnson and Family Professor of Services Marketing at Cornell University's Nolan School of Hotel Administration. "They don't see other people's behavior."
'There's Been a Drive Towards Tipping More'
Gary Leff of View From the Wing says that the problem has intensified after the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Tipping requests really took off during the pandemic with labor shortages that caused wage growth making employers look for an offset, and a cultural disposition towards doing right by service workers who continued in customer-facing roles during the pandemic (especially for customers who didn't face the same requirements with their own jobs)," Leff said. "Tipping briefly became both a business strategy and culturally more acceptable—but got taken to some real extremes."
In September, when my daughter and I went to see Pearl Jam at Fenway Park in Boston, a worker handed me a hoodie (for her), a t-shirt (for me), and a tablet for payment that showed a prompt for a tip—starting at 15%.
"Along with looking for tips in more situations, there's been a drive towards tipping more," Leff said.
He's the one who said that last year when he attempted to buy a water bottle at an airport retail shop, the self-checkout kiosk wouldn't let him finish the transaction unless he gave a tip above $0. "As soon as the amount was changed to $0.01 payment was permitted," he wrote.
Lynn believes that the situation is likely to improve. "Most people aren't (tipping self-checkout kiosks) and they're never gonna be," he said. "Part of what's going on here is the post-COVID environment. Now (business owners) know there's fatigue."
"I just don't think it's gonna keep going," said Lynn. "It's going to roll back."
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