Do Americans like to tip?

I'm tired of receiving mediocre service, dagnabit! I want to be treated like a King!

Gratuitous

It turns out that most Americans are now coming to agree with Mr. Pink, Steve Buscemi’s anti-gratuity character in Reservoir Dogs, when it comes to tipping culture, with 66% of respondents in a recent survey admitting to holding a “negative view” of the concept.

Gratuity-adding options are baked into a wide range of modern-day transactions — even at self-service kiosks where human contact is minimal — with nearly 1 in 3 now saying that tipping culture is “out of control”.

Tipping points

Tipping varies widely around the world — in Japan, leaving money as a token of appreciation rather than complimenting, bowing, or giving thanks is an awkward faux pas. While that’s been the opposite in the US for some time, with workers in the service industry often relying on tips to get by, customers still can’t agree on which professions (if any) to tip.

According to the Bankrate survey, despite Americans’ increasing distaste for tipping, some 65% will still “always” tip servers when sitting down to eat at a restaurant. Meanwhile, 53% of American customers said they "always" tip hairdressers, with 50% and 40% saying the same for delivery workers and taxi drivers too, respectively.

Americans were more split on baristas and housekeepers, while it was mostly bad news for repair people — 48% of Americans said they’d “never” tip home services and repair people.