MURRAY, Neb.- In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to go anywhere without being stopped by the question, “Would you like to leave a tip?” Whether you’re enjoying a quick meal at a fast food restaurant or sitting in a nail salon, you can assume you’ll be asked to leave a tip. Tipping culture has progressively grown out of control in recent years. What used to be used to show simple appreciation is now a task that people are expected to do daily.

The pressure of tipping is inescapable. Everywhere you go, a tipping screen will appear on the kiosk, or there will be a spot at the bottom of the check asking for a tip. So many people feel obligated to tip because everywhere they look, it is asked of them. The pressure to tip can be defined as “guilt tipping.” Guilt tipping is used to describe the feeling of anxiety that urges someone to tip when a tipping screen appears. According to data from Fox Business, “Respondents admitted… that they tipped out of guilt 4.2 times per month on average.” This number shows that even though people might not feel a tip is needed, they get guilt-tripped into leaving one anyway. Additionally, the number of places where people are asked to leave tips has increased in recent years. Places like self-checkout kiosks, drive-thru coffee shops, and car wash shops are some of the more recent places where tips are asked for. People can’t even do daily tasks anymore, like taking their car to get washed, without feeling obligated and pressured to leave a tip to show thanks. This makes some customers feel angry and upset. Their frustration raises the point: What are workers doing beyond their job to earn their tips?

Most workers are now being tipped even when they are only doing the requirements of their job. Completing simple tasks like taking orders, clearing the tables, or handing out food through a window should not earn someone additional pay. Tipping workers for doing tasks that they are already paid for should not be normal. A place where tipping is starting to become more apparent is drive-thrus. Tipping is not typically expected at drive-thrus due to the fact that they are paid a regular hourly wage and not a tipping wage. Drive-thrus are also designed to be fast work, and tipping would slow down that process. Another situation where tipping is frequently expected, but shouldn’t be, is when customers pick up take-out orders. Some restaurants will ask customers to leave a tip at pick up, even though no extra work or delivery of the order was done. So why do places of service ask for a tip when no additional work is done? Some businesses use it as a strategy for customers to fill the pay gap, so they don’t have to pay their workers more. Some places may ask for tips to attract and keep staff who might leave to find a better-paying job. Employees who are simply doing the requirements of their jobs should not receive extra income through tips.

Automatic gratuities are a clear example of how out-of-control tipping has gotten. These can be very misleading and upsetting to customers. An automatic gratuity is a mandatory service fee added to a bill without the customer’s choice. Automatic gratuity can make customers upset or feel a loss of power. It restricts customers from having the choice to give or withhold tips depending on the quality of service. A study done by Pew Research Center showed, “About seven-in-ten adults (72%) say they oppose businesses including automatic service charges or tips on customers’ bills, regardless of group size.” It is not only unfair to customers but also to workers. At businesses that add automatic gratuity, both good and bad workers are provided the same amount of tip, regardless of their service level. Workers who provide excellent customer service should not have their earnings reduced due to automatic fees. When customers see that a fee was already added to their bill, they tend not to leave an extra tip, even if the service was good. Automatic fees can also add confusion to paying the bill. Customers aren’t sure whether or not they are supposed to leave an additional tip along with the gratuity already added. This system of automatic gratuity removes the reward aspect associated with tipping and is unfair to both customers and workers.

Tipping was originally used to reward workers for exceptional work and to show appreciation for going above and beyond. Today, that purpose is lost. Tipping has been turned into an expected or mandatory cost, instead of being used as a bonus. Customers feel unsure of how much and in what situations they are supposed to tip. The obligation to tip has taken away the personal connection in tipping and has encouraged tipping when it isn’t well deserved.

Tipping culture has dramatically changed in the past few decades, spiralling completely out of control. The pressure to tip and the confusion brought by automatic gratuities have changed the meaning of tipping and how it is used. If the trend of tipping continues to rise, it will eventually cause economic problems and change social norms even more. What was once optional has turned into an expectation that all see the effects of. For tipping to restore its original purpose, it needs to turn into a voluntary choice rather than an obligation.