PDT 2/2 : Why has tipping increased?

[El Diablo]

Tony,

10% is def on the cheap side anywhere, but my experience in the midwest and south is that tipping is still closer to 15% than 20% there for most, while in more urban/cosmopolitan/whatever cities like SF/NYC/LA/Boston it's closer to 20% for quite a few more people.

Autograt of 18% in Texas or Atlanta would be received pretty poorly, I'd guess (I haven't done group dinners there for a long time, though, might be wrong), but it's pretty common now for groups in SF/NYC.

[NhlNut]

Have we become more of a service economy?
It would make sense then, that more people have worked service jobs, and thus know what it's like to depend on tips for their income.

[ahnuld]

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Have we become more of a service economy?
It would make sense then, that more people have worked service jobs, and thus know what it's like to depend on tips for their income.

[/ QUOTE ]

I stated this as well but I dont think its getting enough attention as a factor in this thread

[Ron Burgundy]

I think there's a common perception today that there's a larger gap in wages between the high-end and low-end jobs. Tipping has become a form of charity. People feel that the minimum wage is not high enough, that the typical entry level service job is not enough to live on, and take it upon themselves to provide what they feel is a more fair income for them. Whether or not this perception is true could be an interesting thread subject.

[Guy Incognito]

[ QUOTE ]
Autograt of 18% in Texas or Atlanta would be received pretty poorly, I'd guess (I haven't done group dinners there for a long time, though, might be wrong)

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It's common here for groups.

[Kyle]

More and more people are eating out these days. It is a much higher percentage than 40 and even 20 years ago. More two working parents and single parent homes means less time for home cooked meals. That translates into more restaurants and more restaurant employees. After having worked in a restaurant a person is much more likely to give better tips. Since tipping is passed onto children from parents this is going to have a compounding effect. Also being a bad tipper has a negative social connotation. Therefore if a majority or strong minority is tipping x then it will spread to others.

I doubt we are going to see tipping decline but there has to be an inflection point where it just stops increasing or the growth rate becomes minuscule.

Also an increase in disposable income will increase tipping. Tipping could be considered conspicuous consumption much like buying name brand items. More money=more money spent on status.

EDIT: Actually the more I think about it I like the conspicuous consumption theory. IMO this resonates throughout American society in many different aspects. Someone mentioned this earlier, but bottle service immediately springs to mind.

[Benholio]

I wasn't able to find the full list (you have to buy the guide I guess), but Zagat's most recent data indicates that west coast diners are the most stingy in the nation:

From this press release:

Tipping: Among the nation's most generous tippers are Denver (19.5%),
Detroit and Philadelphia (19.4%), all exceeding Zagat's national average of
(19%). West coast diners in San Francisco and Los Angeles are among the
least generous at 18.4%, while Honolulu averages a desultory 18% tip.