Americans are tipping less at restaurants than they have in years.
The average tips at full-service food establishments dipped to 19.4% of total check amounts in the second quarter of this year, according to online restaurant platform Toast’s most recent restaurant trends report.
Toast said it’s the lowest average tip amount they have seen on their platform since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While inflation, cost of living and wage laws for tipped workers can all be factors that result in scanty tips, industry experts said “tipping fatigue” is mostly to blame.
Tipping fatigue: Are requests for tips getting out of control?
Digital "point of sale" cash registers spin around and requests tips on so many purchases. Do you really have to tip every time?
During the pandemic many felt the pressure to tip restaurant workers more than average as a show of support. But, according to Toast, businesses beyond the service industry also started asking for tips, which has led to many claiming tipping has gotten out of hand.
According to NerdWallet, the standard for tipping servers and bartenders is still 20% of the total check amount.
While tips at full-service restaurants might be getting slimmer, they’re slightly growing at quick-service eating establishments. Toast said their average tips grew from 16% to 16.1% in the second quarter of this year.
