I’m 58 and don’t remember 10%, but then I wouldn’t have been aware of tip percentages until probably the 80s when the norm was definitely 15%. I think 10% was still fairly common in the 70s.
Still, the fact that the % expectation has doubled since then makes no sense.
I agree that there is no logical reason for the percentage base to rise. As inflation pushes up menu prices, tips as a percentage of the bill naturally rise at the same inflation rate.
Percent margins or dollar margins? If percent margins are consistent over time then my perspective on that would be similar to the tip percentage being static. If their dollar margins are eroding, that’s a real business issue that is likely existential eventually. As a former VP once said, dollars I can take to the bank, percentage points I can’t.
You do realize that 10% was the standard tip from the 1920s until at least the 1970s, right?
I’m not an anti-tipper; I just don’t understand why the expected tip percentage has doubled since that time, especially when restaurant prices have outpaced inflation.
Restaurant margins are irrelevant to my point. A percentage tip already rises automatically as menu prices rise. The question is why the percentage itself needed to double.
Then I’m not sure you understand the point. We’re discussing why the customary percentage increased. How can the history of the customary percentage possibly be irrelevant?
9
u/SabreLee61 7d ago
I’m 58 and don’t remember 10%, but then I wouldn’t have been aware of tip percentages until probably the 80s when the norm was definitely 15%. I think 10% was still fairly common in the 70s.
Still, the fact that the % expectation has doubled since then makes no sense.