06/04/2026
I’m genuinely torn on this issue and would love to hear different perspectives.
On one hand, it’s important to recognize the reality many service workers face. For countless servers, tips make up a significant portion of their income. What may seem like a reasonable round-up to a customer—turning a $16.20 bill into $20, for example—can represent a relatively small gratuity when viewed through the lens of rising living costs and industry pay structures.
On the other hand, many customers are experiencing what has become known as “tipping fatigue.” Between higher menu prices, inflation, service fees, and tip requests appearing in more places than ever before, some people feel overwhelmed by the constant expectation to tip. In that environment, even customary gratuities can feel less meaningful or more burdensome.
It’s also worth remembering that service employees are working within a system they didn’t create. Most are simply navigating the realities of an industry that relies heavily on customer gratuities rather than guaranteed wages.
Where the conversation becomes more complicated is when frustration is expressed through handwritten notes on receipts. While those messages may reflect genuine feelings, they can also come across as confrontational, potentially shifting attention away from the larger issue of how service workers are compensated in the first place.
So where should the responsibility lie? With customers? With employees? Or with the broader system that has made tipping such a central part of service industry compensation?
I’m curious where others stand.
Do messages like these encourage people to think more carefully about tipping, or do they risk alienating customers and strengthening the argument that meaningful change needs to come from the system itself rather than from individual pressure?
