My current rules for tipping is that I'll tip when all three of the following are true: - The quality of the service I came to get is significantly impacted by

My current rules for tipping is that I'll tip when all three of the following are true: - The quality of the service I came to get is significantly impacted by a single employee - That employee is the one receiving the tip - I am only asked for the tip after I have been able to judge the quality of the service When those things are true (waiters, haircuts, Uber drivers) then I'll tip generously and with high variance. When they aren't (fast food, Starbucks, etc) then I try not to tip, although fighting the peer pressure is definitely hard. The goal is that the best hairstylists/waiters/drivers make enough in tips to have it be a high-paying job they love, and the worst are incentivised to move to an industry where their skills are a better fit. If the general quality of the service is good for reasons not related to a specific employee, I'll do all the normal things (rating highly on Google Maps, returning frequently, recommending to friends), so tipping is only arguably useful when it's directed feedback to a single person. I do wish restaurants allowed a separate tip line for "tip the waiter" and "tip the chef" though.