Picture going to the grocery store because you have run out of pasta and tomato sauce. All is good, you get what you came for with the side of the additional products and are ready to go to the register. However, the line is just too big, so you decide to self-check out. Your total comes up to $15 and before finalizing the payment, another screen suddenly appears. It is asking you if you want to tip 10%, 20%, 25% or you would like to make your tipping costumed. The last option, in a slightly smaller font size, suggests you don’t tip. Feeling anxious, you opt to tip 15%, fearing potential judgment from others. After you go home you start thinking about the reason behind that tip. Did you find the groceries yourself? Yes. Did someone check them out for you? No. Did any employee even help you with something? No! So why are you tipping? And most importantly who are you tipping?

At present, tipping has evolved into a large beast that we just can’t keep in control. One day this beast will overthrow us, and we will stand defeated losing all the power we have over the service economy if we don’t chain it while it is still small. Sadly speaking, the largest power in the world, America, is showing us again, it is more than willing to exploit its labor force. The unbelievable stories about how people tipped a screen or a robot are all over social media, raising suspicion about the practice as a whole. Throughout this article, we will embark on an exploration of tipping as an unstable source of income for workers, a way to strip the pockets of hardworking customers, and an allusion to the extreme capitalism America promotes.

To understand the mess we have created, we must first introduce the reason behind why people tip. Looking at a study by Azar, he concludes that 84% of American respondents tip as they think it is a social norm, and 60% because of guilt. However, we must take into consideration that even though this article is fairly recent, it does not take into account the digital forms of tipping currently available. A vast majority of respondents (64%) reported leaving a tip at least 11% higher when they tip digitally compared with tipping in cash. This increase in digital tipping is a product of the pandemic where most payments happened online and people wanted to help out workers through tips. Today, it is still in use, and it has been shown to pressure, some even say bully them into leaving a greater tip.

A larger tip does not necessarily have a large contribution to the service provided. In a study by Lynn and McCall, the effect of service on tips was small, accounting for less than 2% of the variability in tip percentage. This proves that tipping as not only an action but also as an ideology has gotten out of control. In another study by Conlin, a better service increased the tip percentage by 1.49%. So, sit with this for a second; giving money that you worked hard for a service that did not please you. When you think of it that way, it gets very frustrating, doesn’t it? However, even when receiving ‘excellent service’, such as at a grocery store, you shouldn’t be manipulated into tipping. Grocery stores are frequented by a diverse range of income brackets, meaning that not everyone can tip 20% like people might in a high-end restaurant. Pressuring people into giving tips is simply wrong and must be stopped! It is simply the manipulation and exploitation of people and workers. If I do wish to leave at a tip in a restaurant where the worker was pleasant and the service was fast, I will do it gladly. However, you do not have to include it as part of my bill or show the option on a screen as if it is an obligation. My wage shouldn’t make up for the low wages of others.

This brings me to my third point- tipping is not intended to compensate for inadequate salaries, but rather as a show of gratitude. From the definition of the word “To Ensure Promptness”, you give a tip as a signal to the server that you would like the service to be fast. From the 18th century, we have improved in the way that we give a tip after receiving a service. In different case studies this is shown to motivate workers to ensure a quality service. However, what is happening right now with the digital payment forms, where you are guilted to leave a tip is outrageous. The loophole business owners have found, consists of the US federal government wage requirements of at least $2.13 per hour to be given to employees who receive at least $30 per month in tips. So, essentially tipping is now a filler for the empty wallet of workers whose employers want to maximise profits.

This phenomenon makes the workers' wages unstable and unfair because it is shown that certain types of servers receive more tips.  For example, in a taxicab in New Haven Connecticut Ayes et.al found that at a clear difference between white and non-white drivers when it comes to tips. Specifically, white drivers are tipped 61% more than black drivers, and 64% more than other minorities. To better prove my point, I present another study in which Michael Lynn and his colleagues found that restaurant customers in Mississippi tipped black servers significantly less than white drivers. According to the size of the dining table, the tips could vary from 14.6% for black servers, compared to 19.4% for white workers. “Given that the tips constitute a high proportion of many service workers' compensation”, these differences can lead to significant changes in income when added up over many transactions.

The present tipping culture, doesn’t only make it difficult for customers to keep up, but once again shows the brutality and the dark side of American capitalism. To enter this intricate web, I must mention an article published in the New York Times where Steven A. Shaw said “Tipping is not capitalism.” He then explains that tipping is not capitalism because it disrupts traditional market-based incentive structures and relies on social norms rather than direct market valuation. By this reasoning, if tipping falls outside the principles of supply and demand central to capitalism, I’m a communist. Let me explain. “The Communist Manifesto” does not explain the failed experiments like the Soviet Union just like the principles of supply and demand don’t explain tipping. However, neither communism is a book nor capitalism a principle because the world is not a utopia. Owners trying to exploit their workers by giving them minimum wages so they can maximize their profits, consumers not being able to afford to live in a world where they have to provide for themselves, and a worker, scream capitalism at its worst. The greatest country, the one that is supposed to be an example for all, encourages business owners to exploit their workers by not setting any rules to stop the stupidity of extensive tipping. Fundamentally, tipping is another form of the extreme capitalism that America ruthlessly offers, and this is coming from a capitalist.

To conclude, the tipping culture in America has spiraled out of control and it’s now a system that exploits both workers and consumers. With the new technology introduced, tipping has become foolish as tablet screens are now asking you to tip up to 25% for self-service. Originally intended as a motivation for quicker service and signs of gratitude, tipping now serves as a mechanism for businesses to shift the burden of fair compensation onto consumers. This underscores racial biases, as research consistently reveals that skin color often outweighs the quality of service provided. The saddest part of all is that is this a clear symbol of extreme American capitalism, which promotes the exploitation of people for more profit. America should listen because more profit doesn’t mean more happiness, prosperity, freedom, and equality as the once American Dream promised. Wear your suits and fancy watches, but at least take urgent systemic changes to address the issues mentioned. We all are watching!