Tipping Point: A changing custom

Throughout most of my life, the baseline tip at a restaurant was universally understood to be 15 percent—not by law, but by custom. Ten percent sent a quiet but unmistakable signal that something had gone wrong, while 20 percent was reserved as a warm and deliberate thank you. Having worked behind a bar through my school years, I developed a heightened awareness of the demands of those jobs and made a habit of tipping on the higher end, usually landing at 20 percent regardless of the experience. At the time, that felt like a generous standard—nothing extravagant, but at least a sign of consideration.

It has been more than a decade—well before COVID—that I first noticed the fine print on menus beginning to change. Where large parties had once been assessed a 15 percent automatic gratuity, that figure quietly crept up to 18 percent. That was not an isolated change. For much of the early 20th century, 10 percent was standard. By the late 1900s, it had settled at 15 percent. By the early 2000s, 18 to 20 percent began to emerge as the mark of good service. In other words, the ground had already begun to shift.

While the pandemic did not start that trend, COVID compressed a number of slow-moving economic realities into a much shorter timeline. Restaurants, like many businesses, struggled to stay open, and customers—admirably—were inclined to be more generous during a difficult time.

Here in Nebraska, the shift has been further accelerated. Our state follows the traditional “tip credit” model, meaning that tipped workers are paid a lower direct wage, with the expectation that tips will make up the difference. If they do not, the employer must close the gap. A ballot-driven mandate to rapidly increase the minimum wage has pushed that ‘make-up’ target up by more than 66 percent over four years, and employers have been sent looking for creative ways to meet that obligation.

The newer language surrounding these shifts—“tipflation” and “tip creep”—may sound a bit contrived, but the distinction is useful. Tipflation refers to the rising percentage itself. Tip creep describes the expansion of where tips are expected.

There was a time when tipping was largely reserved for table service. Counter service was different. Some customers might leave a little extra out of courtesy, but it was clearly optional. Today, that boundary has blurred. Establishments that do not offer table service now routinely present tip options.

To that end, technology has played a fiendishly clever role. Tablet-based payment systems have turned what was once a private tipping decision into a small public moment, complete with inflated options of 18, 20 or 25 percent, often with an employee standing just close enough for direct eye contact.

There are signs that patience with tipped counter service is wearing thin. The steady expansion of electronic tip prompts risks pushing customers from quiet acceptance into quiet withdrawal. It will not be loud. People will simply skip the extra stop and avoid an optional discomfort.

The value of full-service waitstaff will, of course, remain. There is no replacement for accurate orders, timely delivery and attention to etiquette. Dining locally, that service extends to a moment of recognition and a remembered order that makes the difference between a business transaction and a moment of comfort.

Relationships on that level carry a value that will outlast strong-armed treatment for counter-service and one that no preset percentage can capture. The broader pattern may be shifting, but the best parts of the experience are still worth preserving.