Tipping Is Going Up: What Gives?

This chart was derived from a study by Toast, a point-of-sale (POS) platform that restaurants and other retail food services use to cash out customers.

The study found that…

* The average tip in full-service restaurants was 19.6%, compared to 16.9% for fast-food places.

* Tips rose 10% year-over-year, compared to 7.6% for food costs.

Well, that’s encouraging. Tips are at least meeting the cost of inflation. Is that because customers are feeling compassionate? Not according to the digital news site Hustle. They note, “POS platforms like Toast have ushered in the rise of ‘iPad tipping,’ leading many to tip when they normally wouldn’t to avoid looking stingy in front of the cashier.”

I’m sure you’ve had a lot of these “complete your transaction” experiences lately. I have. And they nudge me to tip higher than I usually would.

Here’s a funny video clip that explains what may be going on.