We all need a break from tipping fatigue
It’s Restaurant Week in Dallas/Fort Worth, an annual event in which participating restaurants donate some of their proceeds to local charities.
It’s a worthy cause that for 26 years has netted its beneficiaries more than $12 million.
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Unfortunately, this year’s campaign comes at a time when most of us are increasingly confused, annoyed and even downright fed up with what’s become the worst part of eating out: tipping.
There seems to be no escaping it. Not at the take-out counter. Not in the drive-through line. Not even at our front doors. Tipping fatigue is everywhere and has become a big pain in the neck for restaurant customers.
The industry is wrong to pay workers so little that it depends on its hungry and thirsty patrons to supplement their incomes.
A recent study by consumer finance company Bankrate captures the breadth of our frustration.
Two-thirds of Americans said they have an overall negative view of tipping, according to the survey.
And 41% said they thought restaurants should pay workers more rather than making them rely on tips.
Nearly a third said they were put off by being shown tip screens with pre-entered amounts, and 30% said that tipping has gotten “out of control.”
It used to seem so easy. Restaurant tips were reserved for servers who waited on you at a table and, unless they were bad, received standard 15% gratuity for their effort.
If they went the extra mile, they got 18%, maybe more.
Now, not only has the standard crept up to 20%, but we’re asked to tip an equal percentage for counter service or to that worker who stands in the drive-through line with a tablet taking orders.
It’s become almost a moral dilemma and an impossible value judgment.
How many steps did that person have to take to walk from here to there?
Did I have to wait long?
Did I get service with a smile?
Unfortunately, our generalized tipping fatigue seems to be backfiring on waitstaff at sit-down restaurants, who seem most deserving of our generosity.
According to the Bankrate study, only 65% of U.S. adults said they regularly tip when dining in; that’s down from 73% last year and 77% in 2019.
Part of the problem, of course, is state law.
In Texas, the minimum wage for tipped workers is just $2.13 an hour. That’s abysmally low.
No wonder we’re being asked to open our wallets so much.
We applaud the many local restaurants participating in Restaurant Week and encourage eating out in support of this year’s beneficiaries.
And when you’re asked to come up with that tip, well, we sympathize.
— Dallas Morning News Editorial
