New tipping trend hurts those who most depend on gratuities

Tipping bulks up the otherwise poor pay of many staff working in hospitality. (Image: Depositphotos)

Sun, 03 Sep 2023

By Bobby Ghosh You know a trend has attained critical momentum when it is assigned an easily recognisable moniker. Chances are this one has recently worked itself into your vocabulary: Tip creep. It describes the phenomenon – especially noticeable since the end of the pandemic – of customers being prompted to add gratuities to tabs where previously there was no such expectation, like coffee shops, fast-food joints and even self-service establishments. The proliferation of touch-screen payment tablets has accelerated s...

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