Tip Creep

Forget 15 percent. Or even 20 percent. The new normal in restaurant tipping is to give a full 25 to 30 percent of the tab, the New York Post reports.

It’s not just New York City where tips are heading north; other cities are also experiencing “tip creep.” New research from a professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration studied 9,000 receipts from a restaurant in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and found that more than one-third of patrons left a tip that was more than 20 percent. Read the full story here.

Setup Ideas:

• So what is the new etiquette for tipping in restaurants? In general and in your market? Does this “tip creep” apply to other services, too? Discuss, and ask listeners who work in the service industry to call in and share whether they have noticed a “tip creep”.

• Is this “tip creep” fair? If customers who dine-in haven’t received a raise this year (and have possibly taken a pay cut), why are servers making more money when workers in other industries aren’t?

• Should the United States consider getting rid of tipping for the service sector and just raise the prices to pay workers an appropriate wage? Discuss. 

• Every server and bartender has numerous horror stories on tipping. Open a “tip line” where listeners can vent on their tipping nightmares for 30 seconds.