Has The Tipping Culture Hit A Tipping Point? [Block Talk Survey]

Confused about who and how much to tip, or even whether you should be expected to tip at all? Those people ahead of you in the drive-thru line may be, too, as a digital screen prompting tips of as much as 30 percent is shoved in their car window.

When the culture surrounding gratuities was simple, a 15 percent tip for excellent service at a sit-down restaurant was respectable — or 20 percent for exceptional service. A few others — for example, hair stylists, barbers, hotel concierge service and taxi drivers — routinely got tips, but the idea of being prompted to add a 15 percent to 30 percent tip to a drive-up coffee order was unheard of.

A seismic shift has occurred in how Americans work, with more than a third (38 percent, or 58 million people) making a living freelancing, with side hustles or in the gig economy. Along with it, has tipping reached a tipping point and fallen into a pit of relentless entitlement that has nothing to do with quality and service? What did that person do besides ring up a drive-thru order?

With this informal survey for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column, we’ll help you sort out the confusion over tipping before the holiday season kicks into high gear — and people you never tipped before expect a fat gratuity.

Just fill out the survey below. And don’t worry. We won’t collect your email addresses.

Editor’s note: This survey closed on Oct. 29.

About Block Talk

Block Talk is an exclusive Patch series on neighborhood etiquette — and readers provide the answers. If you have a topic you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com with “Block Talk” as the subject line.

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