I think the problem with tipping is that the way we tip has gotten too disconnected from the service you are tipping for. For the most part, tipping a percenta

I think the problem with tipping is that the way we tip has gotten too disconnected from the service you are tipping for. For the most part, tipping a percentage of the total paid only makes sense when two things are true: 1. the amount you pay corresponds pretty directly the the amount of service that is provided and 2. You understand where your tip is going. This is pretty true of a lot of traditional tipped industries that use that model: taxis, restaurants, stylists/barbers, and so on. For a lot of other jobs where that was less true, the tipping interaction was often separated from the payment of the bill, and it would be fixed based on the service provided. Good examples of that are porters, couriers, baristas (when coffee drinks were relatively cheap compared to the labor involved in making them) and so on. Today though, UE/GH drivers are tipped as a percentage of the bill even though that has little to do with what they actually did (should probably be distance + # of bags + extenuating circumstances). People who are doing nothing more than ringing you up for a pre-packaged item are now presenting you with a console that asks for 20% (give or take). This is creating a tipping backlash, for good reason. Even though you can always tip whatever you want, there is a social contract that has been broken: if a tip is requested it should be reasonable based on the service provided.