Tipping can be confusing, especially with evolving norms and varying expectations across industries. To avoid overspending or feeling awkward, here are 30 situations where tipping is generally not expected or necessary:
Groceries
Cashiers and baggers at supermarkets or convenience stores typically earn hourly wages and don’t expect tips. This is the case for delivery drivers, although some tip if they have a huge basket.
Fast Food
Counter staff at fast food restaurants are compensated through their regular paychecks. It is unusual to tip fast food assistants, and many stores prevent their staff from taking tips.
Coffee Shops
While tipping baristas at independent cafes is becoming more common, it’s not mandatory. Consider the service and local tipping culture before deciding, and if you have had an amiable staff member help you, then offer a small tip.
Gas Stations
Pump attendants generally only expect tips if they offer additional services like car washes, in which case they would not expect a large tip.
Public Transportation
Public transportation drivers receive regular salaries and benefits established by their employer, often a government agency or public transportation authority. These wages are their primary source of income and are meant to compensate them for their work, including driving the vehicle, ensuring passenger safety, and providing essential passenger assistance.
Libraries and Museums
Libraries and museums are often funded through public grants, membership fees, donations, or government budgets. This funding covers the salaries and benefits of staff, so tipping is optional as the cost of service is already factored into these funding sources.
Parks and Public Restrooms
Tipping park rangers, restroom attendants, or other personnel in these settings is unfamiliar. Neither staff nor visitors typically expect it. Some government agencies may have policies prohibiting employees from accepting tips to avoid confusion or ethical concerns.
Doctors and Other Healthcare Providers
Tipping could create a potential conflict of interest, as patients might feel pressured to tip for better treatment or fear receiving subpar care without it. This undermines the core ethical principles of fairness, objectivity, and trust in healthcare.
Lawyers, Accountants, and Other Financial Professionals
Their fees cover their services, and tipping is not expected. Financial matters require transparency and trust. Introducing tipping creates ambiguity and risks compromising the perception of fairness and objectivity in their advice or services.
Teachers, Professors, and School Staff
Educators are salaried professionals, and tipping is not appropriate. Introducing tipping into education could create concerns about fairness and equity. Students or families with more financial resources might feel pressure to tip more, potentially leading to preferential treatment or unequal access to educational opportunities.
Sanitation Workers
Sanitation workers and other public service employees receive regular wages and don’t require tips. Garbage collection and waste management are typically funded through taxes or service fees residents pay. This cost already covers the salaries and benefits of sanitation workers, so tipping isn’t expected.
Delivery Fees
Delivery fees already compensate delivery drivers, so additional tipping is optional and depends on service quality and personal preference. If a delivery driver has gone out of their way to be helpful, you can offer a small tip.
Haircuts
Often, the cost of a haircut or another service already includes a styling fee or gratuity built into the price. This fee covers the hairdresser’s time, expertise, and the salon’s overhead costs, so additional tipping is optional.
Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning services operate on a predetermined fee structure per garment or type of cleaning required. These fees account for the labor, cleaning solvents, equipment use, and overhead costs. Tipping isn’t expected since the price already includes the service provider’s compensation.
Takeout Orders
Unlike waitstaff in dine-in settings, which rely heavily on tips, many restaurant staff processing takeout orders receive regular wages and benefits. These wages encompass their work in preparing the food, packaging it, and handling customer interactions.
Movie Theaters
Most movie theater employees, including concession stand workers and in-theater servers, receive regular wages and benefits established by their employers. These wages are intended to be their primary source of income and compensate them for their work, so tipping is optional.
Gyms and Fitness Centers
Gyms and fitness centers operate on a membership model, with members paying monthly or annual fees to access facilities and services. These fees cover staff salaries, equipment maintenance, and operational costs. As the cost of service is already factored into membership fees, tipping isn’t considered necessary.
Self-Service Kiosks
As machines, self-service kiosks are not capable of receiving or appreciating tips. They need to gain the human element of providing personalized service or understanding the concept of a tip as a reward for exceptional service.
Retail Store Employees
Unlike restaurant servers or other service industry workers, retail employees typically receive an hourly wage that meets or exceeds minimum wage standards. This wage is intended to compensate them for their work, including assisting customers, stocking shelves, and operating cash registers.
Dentists
Accepting tips would create additional administrative burdens for dentists, requiring reporting and paying taxes on that income. This could also need to be clarified regarding the final cost of their dental services.
Public Transit Drivers
Public transit drivers typically receive an hourly wage or salary set by their employer, often a government agency or public transportation authority. This wage accounts for their work and is intended to be their primary source of income.
Flight Attendants
Airlines factor the cost of flight attendant salaries into their ticketing prices. Unlike restaurants where a separate tipping line appears on the bill, the flight cost already covers the service flight attendants provide. Tipping is optional as customers have already paid for the service through ticket purchases.
Corporate Services
Unlike waitpeople or hairdressers, whose income often hinges on tips, these professionals charge established fees for their services. These fees reflect their expertise, qualifications, and the time invested in your case or project. Tipping implies their service is somehow complete with additional incentive, diminishing the value of their professional expertise.
Bank Tellers
Like salaried professionals, bank tellers receive regular wages established by their employer. These wages are intended to be their primary source of income and include compensation for the services they provide, such as processing transactions, answering customer questions, and assisting with account management.
Government Employees
Government employees, like postal workers or DMV clerks, receive salaries and benefits set by their government agency. These salaries are intended to compensate them for their work and are considered their primary source of income. They are not reliant on tips to supplement their earnings.
Airport Security and Customs Agents
Like other government services, airport security and customs operations are funded through taxpayer dollars, not individual gratuities. Taxes contribute to the salaries and benefits of these agents, ensuring fair compensation for their critical role in airport safety and security.
Utility Workers
Tipping utility workers is not customary in most regions and companies. Neither workers nor customers typically expect it. Some utility companies may even have policies prohibiting employees from accepting tips to avoid potential confusion or ethical concerns.
Mail Carriers
Mail carriers receive regular wages and benefits from the United States Postal Service (USPS). These wages are their primary source of income and compensate them for their daily tasks, including delivering mail, collecting packages, and providing other postal services.
Mechanics
Many repair shops also charge established flat rates or labor rates per job. These rates factor in the mechanic’s expertise, time involved, and shop overhead, so the customer already pays for the mechanic’s labor through the service cost.
Electronics Installers/Repairers
Like mechanics, most electronics installers/repairers receive regular wages established by their employers. These wages are meant to compensate them for their work, including diagnosing and repairing electronics, installing systems, and interacting with customers. Tipping is optional as their income already caters to their service.
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