These TikToks could make you question your tipping habits
Twenty percent gratuity isn't enough to support minimum wage service industry workers anymore. Some servers are taking to TikTok to reveal they often don't get tipped at all.
Here's a tip: You might want to brush up on your tipping etiquette.
Service industry jobs became an incredibly unreliable source of income four years ago, when COVID-19 made its debut on the world stage. Now, with COVID no longer deemed a public health emergency and what most consider to be a shaky economic climate, Floridians in the service industry are pining for more tips.
With inflation rising and low-wage jobs not budging, service industry employees are even more reliant on tips for income. But the national average for tipping still sits between 15 and 20 percent, which a lot of restaurant workers now consider the bare minimum. In some places, like Naples, suggested gratuity is hitting 22 to 28 percent.
Below are some things to know about tipping and TikToks from those in the service industry.
How much do servers make in Florida?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Florida's minimum wage for tipped workers is expected to rise to $12-an-hour by this September. But that includes what servers are expected to make after tip, not before. The current minimum wage for tipped workers in Florida, not including expected tips rings in around $7. After tips, minimum wage for tipped workers in Florida currently comes out to around $11 each hour.
How much should I tip? Is it rude to tip below 20%?
The gap between what servers expect and what customers will pay is growing. With all of the factors in the paragraph above in play, the gap between what customers expect to tip and what servers feel they deserve is getting wider. According to tipping data, customers in Florida weren't even hitting a 20% tipping average before the pandemic. And Florida is considered one of the best states for service industry workers to rake in tips. In response, service industry workers are taking to TikTok to air their grievances about tipping, or lack thereof.
Pay your bill and tip your service, there's a difference
The hosts of "More Bread Please!" a podcast made for servers, by servers, posted a TikTok on Saturday from a discussion they had about tipping.
"There's a difference between you paying your bill. … And your tip, which is (for) your service," a co-host said.
For those who don't tip, why?
In another video posted recently by TikTok creator Tashe' Gray (@tashe_gray), Gray simply asks "Why don't you tip your servers?"
Gray has more than 30,000 followers and an entire playlist of videos promoting open discussion about the experience of working in the service industry.
"If you don't tip, I want to know why," Gray said.
What does tipflation mean?
"Tipflation," or the rising expectations of service industry workers in relation to COVID-induced inflation, isn't just this year's news. TikTok creator Daylie Waters (@iamdaylie) posted a video about the tipping crisis in 2022. The video received around 137,500 likes and almost 32,000 comments. Plus, 9,000 TikTok users saved the video.
"If you go out to eat and don't tip your server, I have zero respect for you," Waters said. "There are good days and there are bad days."
Lianna Norman covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at lnorman@pbpost.com. You can follow her reporting on social media @LiannaNorman on Twitter.