For many years it's been pretty common to expect to tip in a number of different market circumstances, like taking a taxi, having a meal out, getting a massage, having a drink at the bar, and so on. In general, most people abide by the 10-20 percent tipping rule, with 15 being the standard.
Q: Do you think tipping should always be a given in service transactions? Or do do you think tips need to be earned and should only be given out for service that goes above and beyond?
In recent years an increasing number of businesses have been implementing tip-asking into their payment terminals. And tip inflation has been discussed for several years now and some are finding that those terminals are now prompting them to tip on average 20, 25, or 30 percent.
According to data from Square, for those businesses that do implement the tip-asking into the payment terminals, it's been reaping some lucrative results for them. On average, customers are shown to tip at least 35 percent more frequently.
When it comes to average tipping for last year, it seems like the 15-20 rule still stands.
Sometimes consumers are going to be willing to pay more voluntarily simply by being prompted and asked about whether or not they'd like to. And so it's easy to see why many businesses would go down the road of making the change for their terminals to prompt customers about tips and to even go about increasing the ask on those tips to 25 percent or more.
To Tip Or Not To Tip...
Not everyone has a positive regard for tipping, some say its outdated, ineffective, and irrational. Some consumers feel shamed by the tipping prompt and they aren't happy about it.
Others see it as a tool that can enable a minimum wage job to be a valuable stepping stone by providing the individual with incentive to perform well and establish job skills, meet the customers needs and so on. Many people also enjoy and appreciate the social connection and cooperation involved with leaving a tip for someone who they thought did a good job.
When it comes to where you can likely find the most tips, states like Alaska, Arkansas, and North Carolina have come out on top with an average of around 17 percent.
And the lowest? They've been seen to be states like Hawaii, South Dakota, and Delaware.
Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
http://time.com/money/3394185/tipping-myths-realities-history/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-money-retail-tipping-idUSKBN1962D3
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/06/coffe-shops-tip-inflation-stingy-millennials
http://www.startribune.com/tip-inflation-is-becoming-issue-for-consumers/430411323/
https://mises.org/library/praise-tipping
https://qz.com/189458/the-united-states-of-tipping/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/are-you-being-prompted-to-tip-20-consumers-grapple-with-tip-inflation/article35356290/
https://qz.com/730315/squares-design-guilts-us-into-tipping-basically-everyone/