Photo by Christiann Koepke on Unsplash

Nearly every time I find myself in a fast food restaurant or retail store, I face the difficult decision of whether to leave a tip. I feel I have a unique perspective on the debate on tipping for counter service, since I myself work a counter service job.

When I go to pay for something at a restaurant and the employee hands me back my card, they rotate a white tablet on the counter to me. It asks whether and how much I would like to tip.

As the employee stares straight into my eyes, I feel a sense of guilt as they see my finger press the No Tip option.

But I also wonder why I should leave a tip, given that I am the one who has to wait in line to order the food, walk back to the counter to obtain my food, and return the dishes and plates to the counter when finished eating.

Working at a popular ice cream business in Harford County, there have been times when my tips have matched my hourly pay. While it is a great feeling walking out of my job knowing I’ve made a lot of tip money, I can’t say there’s anything I’ve done to deserve it.

In a 2023 survey by YouGovAmerica, 26% Americans said they “typically tip” baristas at coffee shops. Thirteen percent said they “never tip” for this same service.

In an April 2022 New York Post article on the rise in “guilt tipping,” New Yorker Stanley Vogel said his views on tipping differ depending on the type of service he is getting.

“[I]n a bakery if they’re just giving me a loaf of bread, I’m not gonna tip ‘em for that,” he told the paper. “I never tip people who are counter people that just bring me something I can myself…. I’m puzzled that these people who are just doing their job expect a tip for it.”

Post-pandemic, there has also been a rise in tipping for takeout across America. A CNBC article from January 2022 cited a creditcards.com poll that found the average tip for takeout has reached 19% percent. In a follow-up story from April 2023, the network explored a rise in tipping so significant, experts are calling it “tipflation.”

With prices already high due to inflation, many customers can’t afford to tip everywhere they go. I don’t believe workers deserve a tip unless they do something above and beyond for a customer. While I do believe table-side servers making less than minimum wage deserve to be tipped, I think it’s fair for counter service workers who make minimum wage not to expect customers to tip. 

I think it should be the responsibility of all employers to pay their employees minimum wage. And personally, I would rather pay more for food at sit-down restaurants if it meant employees would receive better pay – rather than be expected to tip at every counter.

But I do often leave a tip out of courtesy when a restaurant appears very busy or understaffed, to show my appreciation of their hard work.