Has tipping in America reached a tipping point?

Poughkeepsie, New York — A controversial question facing customers at almost every cash register these days is whether they would like to leave a tip.

Many Americans think tipping has gotten out of control: Is it discretionary kindness or relentless obligation?

A November 2023 survey from the Pew Research Center found that 72% of people think tipping is expected in more places than it was five years ago. Some businesses that perhaps in the past were not known for asking for tips, such as drycleaners and hardware stores, now are.

Tipping is not just about percentages on a screen.

Dr. Paul Wright, senior vice president for the Neuroscience Institute with Nuvance Health in Poughkeepsie, New York, says that with tipping, the brain releases feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and oxytocin. 

“Tipping is very similar to when you’re doing a good deed,” Wright explained. “…Many people do it for themselves, and not just for the recipient.”

But many Americans are not feeling that dopamine hit.

In a recent June 2023 survey from Bankrate, two-thirds of Americans now have a negative view of tipping, and one-third feel it’s “out of control.”

There’s also that pressure of the so-called “guilt trip tip.”

“Do I feel more obligated to tip when someone is looking at me with their big doe-eyes?” one woman at a coffee shop in Poughkeepsie told CBS News. “Probably.” 

Others tip to right the wrong of wage inequality.

“People should be paid a living wage,” another coffee shop patron said. “People shouldn’t be dependent on the tipping system.” 

Poughkeepsie restaurateur Russell Beck tried that.

“I think you should pay your people what they’re worth,” Beck said.

His “no tipping, please” wine bar, the 1915 Wine Cellar, began paying employees up to $30 an hour. But in wine there is a hard truth.

“Our accountant came back and said, ‘Listen, either you’re closing or you’re changing your pay model. There’s really no in-between,'” Beck said.

Beck believes he was naïve to think it could work. Now, with tips, both the bar and its employees have made more money.

Beck personally tips big. But he draws the line.  

“It’s gotten crazy,” Beck said. “I ordered something online and I was asked if I wanted to tip the people that were going to be packaging the box. And I was like, excuse me?”

Mark Strassmann

Mark Strassmann is CBS News’ senior national correspondent based in Atlanta. He covers a wide range of stories, including space exploration. Strassmann is also the senior national correspondent for “Face the Nation.”