PDT 2/2 : Why has tipping increased?

[+EV]

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Tipping in Ireland has, as far as I can tell, gone way up over the last 10-20 years. Not to US levels, but to more than almost anywhere else in the world. I think this is because the country has become more Americanized, and much more prosperous with an economic boom beginning in the early 90s and still felt today.

I doubt this helps explain an increase in tipping in the US, but I thought another data point would be useful.

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Tipping in Ireland is partly my fault. I was over there and just couldnt help but to tip people. In the tour book it said that it was pretty much not even acceptable except at resturants, but I was just tipping all the people that I would normally tip in the US. Plus tipping with Euro's is fun cause you can just flip them a few 1-2Euro coins!!!

+EV

[haakee]

Home equity loans?

The economy essentially has been booming for 25 years so maybe people feel a little freer with their money now. A prolonged economic downswing might cause tips to shrink again.

[gonores]

I'd say one factor would have to be the acceptance of the transitional phase between young adult and adult. Back in the day, lots of people went straight from high school in to a career-oriented job. Some went to college, but obv way less than the number going today. Today, it's much more acceptable for kids to spend some time dicking around (either in college or elsewhere) before choosing a career. I'd venture to say that the majority of these people spend at least a little time in the service industry during this transitional phase.

Therefore

1. More people can sympathize with the amount of work that goes into serving because they themselves worked in the service industry (plus, everyone now has "that guy" in their group of friends who always needs to point out that he tips well because he knows what it's like to have to live off tips).
2. The quality of the person performing the job has gone from "dumpy 40-something chain-smoker mother of 3 who couldn't cut it as a paralegal" to "perky, energetic college kid who has other things going for her besides this side job." It stands to reason that quality of service would rise as well.

[hicherbie]

well on the service end its obvious why its expected to go up. why wouldnt you expect more money all the time if you work hard? the limit on this expectation is how much people are willing to pay. i think this has risen over time because of societal pressures to look generous. i would think this is pronounced by the fact that we tip all the time and it kind of sucks to think youre a cheap bastard 5 times a week.

[Dale Dough]

Are people in the US in general better off financially than before?

As far as I can tell, there seems to be a correlation between the standards of living of a country and the amount people expect you to pay vs. what they quote you. The richer the people, the more generosity is implicitly required of them. You are expected to be a gentleman about this - and if you really can't afford it you can just pay the stated price. Poorer people are expected to haggle, so they are quoted higher prices initially. And if you're rich (tourist) you just pay the higher price without bitching.

Just a guess.

[NoSoup4U]

One possible explanation is that the IRS has gotten much more effective at taxing tips. In the old days, a tip of 10-15% went 100% in the server's pocket. Only a very small fraction of tips were reported as income. Now that the IRS requires employers to impute tip income to servers, a tip of 20% probably leaves the waiter with the same income after tax that they used to get.

[Sciolist]

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Why have standard tipping amounts/expectations increased over time?

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Not read the other posts yet, but I think there're two reasons in the US. The former hasn't happened in the UK so far as I know, which might explain the difference in tipping culture.

1. Tips are taxed effectively. The IRS assumes you receive tips of a certain percentage, and so the value of a tip is reduced

2. Whilst the poorest people are richer now than 20 years ago, the richest are a LOT richer. Therefore, it costs them a similiar percentage of their dispoable income to tip 20% today vs. 10% 20 years ago

[stinkypete]

they tried to autograt my party of five freakin people ~19.5% last night (they do 18% but the jerkhole of a waiter added it after tax). the service was somewhere between mediocre and poor.

i don't know why, but i do know it's retarded.

[punkass]

Standard was 15%. Big groups of people, and even smaller (6) would go to a restaurant, the wait staff would get short changed for various reasons, and then the restaurant implemented a standard gratuity of 15% for parties more than 6.

Over the years, that percentage has gone up to 18%, even 20%. As that automatic gratuity (which is oxymoronic in itself) percentage increased, so has the idea of what a standard tip should be.

That's my theory.

[Toro]

I think it's as simple as "it's generational". My parents were very frugal, me not so much and my daughter and her husband even less. And I think that's pretty typical.