Higher sticker prices have made some people stingier in recent years, a new Bankrate survey finds. “They’re no longer appreciating service industry workers as much.”

People are a little bit stingier in barber chairs and Ubers than they were just a few years ago.

The shares of adults who say they always tip their hair stylists, servers at sit-down restaurants and food delivery people have each fallen 8 percentage points since 2021, according to a Bankrate survey released Wednesday. That rate slipped 7 percentage points for taxi and ride-hail drivers over the same period.

Three years ago, the economy was reopening from the pandemic and inflation was higher than it is now, but so was concern for front-line workers.

At the time, three-quarters of consumers reported always tipping restaurant servers, but today just two-thirds do. Despite modest upticks since last year, barely more than half of people now count themselves reliable tippers of hairdressers (55%) and food delivery drivers (51%), while only 41% say the same when it comes to ordering a ride.

The survey reflects Americans’ growing ease bypassing ubiquitous tipping prompts, from coffeeshops to airport terminals in the post-Covid economy, especially as sticker prices have risen. While consumer spending has held remarkably steady, many households are feeling the squeeze from persistent inflation and tightening their belts accordingly. Some of that newfound caution may be factoring into when, where and how much people tip.

  • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    You aren’t fighting the man by not tipping (in the traditional areas), you’re screwing your fellow worker.

    You’re just being cheap.

    • Redfugee@lemmy.world
      0·
      5 months ago

      Don’t forget that it’s the employer paying the shitty wage that is the one screwing over the worker. This is exactly what those employers want, to be able to pay shitty wages and have the blame shifted to someone else.

      • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
        01·
        5 months ago

        Don’t forget that it’s the employer paying the shitty wage that is the one screwing over the worker.

        I’m not defending the tipping culture, but it’s baked into the idea of how much these people are paid by their employer. By not tipping, you’re just screwing them, not sticking it to the man. It’s just an attempt to justify being cheap.