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When did tipping become 20%? The majority of my life it was 15%. Then at a certain point I started hearing 18%. Now it is 20%? Who is behind this?
by irrational 5y ago
When did tipping become 20%? The majority of my life it was 15%. Then at a certain point I started hearing 18%. Now it is 20%? Who is behind this?
- ghaff 5y agoSocial norms. But, yes, it's creeped up from 15% before tax to 18-20% on the total bill in general.
- irrational 5y agoYes, but social norms don’t come out of nowhere. It was 15% for a long time, then it went to 18% (why 18? I can see the jump to 20% as people wanting to do easier math than 18%). Someone somewhere had to have created this new social norm.
- ghaff 5y ago> Someone somewhere had to have created this new social norm. Someone didn't need to do anything and as far as I know, no individual decreed anything. (Although possibly guidebook and etiquette writes have helped contribute.) It makes some sense with inflation and probably lack of increase in wait staff salaries. Restaurants often show recommended tips and even mandatory service adders for large groups. But, for the most part, it's probably been mostly organic.
- ModernMech 5y agoIn my experience: - Older generations tip maximum 15%, and decide what to tip based on service quality - Millennials tip a flat 20%, regardless of service quality - People who worked in the service industry will tip 30%, because they know what it's like.
- alexpetralia 5y agoSoftware nudges (e.g. Square). This scales social behavior very quickly.
- soco 5y agoI'm not from the US so I didn't really have an idea what to take, so I pulled a figure out of my :) sorry for the confusion!