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The backlash against tipflation, the term for tipping becoming both more widespread and heftier, has been raging for more than two years. In May, we noted that TikTok user @robert_calver posted a video that declared, “If I order standing up, I’m not tipping,” which has been viewed 3.3 million times.
Now a new survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of Paylocity has tackled the topic, asking respondents whether they agreed with the statement, “I will not give a tip if I am standing up while ordering.” More than 3 in 5 (62%) said they would not tip in that circumstance.
The resistance increases with age, with 57% of Gen Z saying they wouldn’t tip while standing, compared to 59% of millennials and 66% of baby boomers.
Even more against the practice, ironically enough, were tipped employees, 68% of whom responded they wouldn’t tip if they ordered standing up. But the crankiest of all is…you. In a readership poll in June, 82.9% of Retail Brew readers said they agreed with the no-tipping-if-standing rule.
The Paylocity/Harris Poll was conducted online in June with 2,084 adults, among whom 9% worked in retail and 6% in restaurants and food service.
Tipsy-turvy: In an era of tipflation, it’s tempting for employers to encourage tipping rather than pay higher wages, but their employees are largely dubious.
Among respondents who were tipped employees, more than 4 out of 5 (83%) said they’d prefer a higher wage with no tips to a lower wage with tips.
Overall, tipflation malaise persists, with 65% of Americans saying they’re annoyed with how frequently they’re asked to tip. Even more annoyed were Gen X (70%) and boomers (68%), while Gen Z (56%) were the least likely to respond that they were annoyed by the practice.
What a long, strange tip it’s been: For all the tipping opprobrium, it could get even more widespread if Donald Trump keeps his campaign promise of ending taxes on tips, an idea that struck such a populist chord that Kamala Harris made the same promise. House Speaker Mike Johnson said in June that he expected the proposal to be among the agenda items in Trump’s first 100 days in office.
TikTok user Robert Calver, meanwhile, made another anti-tipflation assertion on the platform: “If I have to pay before I get the food, I’m not tipping.”
It’s been viewed 3.4 million times.