Majority of Americans feel frustrated by excessive tipping, leaving less on average: survey
Is tipping at a tipping point?
Traditionally, 15 percent was an average tip, with 20 percent for excellent service. Now, the suggested tips on many restaurant bills include 22 percent, 25 percent and even 30 percent. As FOX News correspondent Jonathan Serrie reports, it's a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A majority of Americans in a new survey said they believe tipping expectations have "gone too far," citing the increasing presence of gratuity requests at places like convenience stores and self-service kiosks.
CouponBirds, a platform that tests and applies codes when buying online, surveyed nearly 1,200 Americans about their own tipping habits, followed by another 628 Americans about their views on tipping and wages for servers.
Over three-quarters of Americans indicated that they’ve grown weary of tipping expectations.
"Despite nearly eight in ten Americans (79.3 percent) agreeing that self-service machines asking for tips is going too far, it's also something 47.3 percent have experienced," the survey said.
"Shockingly, 39.7 percent have been told upfront that they would receive a worse service if they didn't tip - and 20 percent have experienced a situation where tipping was compulsory," it continued.
The results reflect rising frustrations Americans have with "tipflation," or being pressured to tip at places that didn't ask for tips in the past.
FILE - An air traveler uses a credit card to pay for items Jan. 28, 2022, at a retail shop in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
More Americans said they tip out of guilt now rather than tipping for good service. Two in three Americans admitted they often tip to avoid "awkwardness" or "confrontation" with employees, and nearly 60% of respondents said that servers have acted aggressively toward them for not leaving a high enough tip or a tip at all.
Seven out of 10 Americans reported tipping less than they used to. Despite common etiquette suggesting 20% as the ideal amount to give, the average percentage-based tip respondents left was 12.9%, according to the survey.
Poor service and concerns about saving money were the top reasons for the decline in tipping.
Long wait times, poor quality food, and if no service was required were also major reasons why Americans skipped tipping. Just over half of those surveyed said they either "often" or "always" tip.
The report also showed how income correlated to tipping. Unsurprisingly, a higher percentage of the top income earners reporting giving above average tips between 15%-20%.
How service workers feel about tipping
The survey also found that six in ten service workers say they rely on tips for more than 30 percent of their income.
But service workers were divided on whether they felt an increase in wages and eliminating tips would benefit them over keeping tips and their current wages.
A little over half, 51%, of employees who receive tips said they'd prefer to have their wages increased to $25 an hour without tips, while 39.3% said they'd prefer more optional tipping. Some 9.7% approved of the current minimum wage and tipping culture.
FOX Business contributed to this report. It was reported from Cincinnati.