You probably tip the person who cuts your hair. And the person who delivers your dinner. How about the person cutting your lawn? More and more often, we’re seeing a gratuity option on card payment machines in industries where tipping didn’t used to be customary. Think: Fast food chains. And auto mechanics. This modern phenomenon, known as “tip creep”, is causing some online discussion. Some, for whom the practice leaves a bad taste in their mouth, are venting about being asked if they’d like to pay an extra 15% or more on top of the price of takeout pizza, and oil change, or propane tank refill. Why now? For one, as customers shift away from carrying cash, it’s easier than ever for any business to ask for a bit extra by adding the automatic prompt to the card payment machine — what psychologists call a “tip nudge”. For another, as we learned in the depths of the pandemic, people who perform an essential service are sometimes undervalued – and very important. Inflation is another likely driver: faced with rising costs, employers may view tips as a way to address workers’ demands for higher pay without actually increasing their wages.
(Yeah, I’m not quite sure why I feel compelled to pay an extra dollar or 2 to the guy who grabs me a beer from the fridge behind him — but the guy who fixes a tire to keep my family safe – nada!)
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