TikTok Thinks Tipping Culture is Out of Control

May 12, 2022

In a recent TikTok, a creator @Laurenromeo__, or just Lauren, says that when she picked her dog up from a boarding facility, an employee asked her to “tip in cash” as the facility only accepted cash tips. This opened the door for an ongoing discussion online, as people are noticing that they are being asked to tip more frequently and feel pressure to do so.  She uses the TikTok as a way to vent and says although she usually tips 20% for servers, she does not understand why she would tip at a boarding facility for her dog. “Why would I even be expected to tip in the first place?” she asks. In the video, she brings up “tipping culture” which has been a recent discussion online, including a phenomenon New York Times dubbed as “tipping fatigue.”

NYT writes that “In interviews, customers, including some who have worked in the food-service business, said they felt uncomfortable with the many requests to tip, and pressured into giving more.” Recently, “consumers venting about being asked to leave a little extra in places they never did before.” Lauren’s video proves to this rising discomfort people have with more and more places asking for tips that never did before. “Not only to ask for the tip but to expect one when they set their pay rates..?” wrote one person online. ” I went to a concert the other day and got merch and was asked if I wanted to tip. like a tip for what? you handing me a shirt?” another agreed.

Lauren is not the only person to call out this issue online. Other TikToks have also gone viral after people felt like they were being pressured to tip, even after rising prices from inflation. One creator posted about it and said that when she was trying to order an online product, they asked if she wanted to tip. She wondered if this was an appropriate thing to do, as she had never been asked this question before. Many were confused, as one person commented “No, you tip for services, not a product.”

So, although some do not mind being asked to tip or do not feel pressured or required to do so, many recount times that they felt pressure tipping at places they never did before.