제 20 호 What is America’s Tip Culture
Kicker: LIFE
What is America’s Tip Culture
by Ji-Min Baek, Reporter
Have you ever paid for a tip? Overseas it is customary to leave a tip when traveling and living abroad, however, this type of culture is absent in Korea. Nevertheless, there has been a recent movement to introduce a tip culture in Korea. Examples include a famous bakery in Korea created a tip box with a phrase that means “if you liked our store, give tips” which caused debates. In addition, Kakao Taxi, one of the most frequently used taxi calling applications in Korea, was controversial because it allowed the customers to pay audit tips if the customer gave taxi drivers five stars in service satisfaction assessment. Although tips in these cases are not compulsory, consumers are concerned about the establishment of tip culture in their daily lives. In addition to concerns about this unfamiliar tip culture, there are various opinions. In this article, I will take a general look at tip cultures that are not familiar to us.
About America’s Tip Culture
Tip culture is a culture that originated in Europe, and it is an abbreviation of To Insure Promptness. This is to pay a certain tip as appreciation and satisfaction for the service, which is a common culture in the United States and Europe. In particular, as tipping became institutionalized in the United States, it became an inseparable culture in American life. Tipping has been institutionalized through the minimum wage system, and workers receiving a tip are subject to a lower minimum wage than ordinary workers. This minimum wage system and tips are set differently by states and governments in the United Sates. That is why workers receiving a tip have irregular incomes and are more dependent on tips.
Tips, which were set at 10% to 15% of meals until a few years ago, are set at 20% to 30% of meals as prices rose after COVID-19. In response, consumers felt burdened by the rise in tip rates, and the new word tipflation, which combines tip and inflation, was coined. Moreover, tips are sometimes required even if services are not provided, such as takeout spots or ordering through kiosk, and new words, such as tip fatigue, are emerging. In addition, rather than paying as many tips as consumers want in appreciation of the service, the majority of restaurants calculate the tip with a certain percentage of their meals and demand them first with the tip on the bill, which seems to be a compulsion, not an option. According to a report in the Washington Post, a new study by the Pew Research Center found that Americans are confused about when they should pay the tip, and the majority of people don’t like the extra fee, such as tip. Drew DeSilver, the senior writer of the report said, “Tipping is one of those things in American society where there aren’t clear rules,” he said. “There’s not a single generally accepted way of doing things, like with traffic lights, where we all know that red means stop.” To prevent this confusion in the United States, where tip culture is most deeply located, some states apply the same minimum wage to tipped workers as ordinary workers. However, it is difficult to solve this problem because if tip culture is eliminated, there will be a lot of side effects.
Tip Culture and Korea
As mentioned above, controversy is brewing in Korea as some restaurants now require a tip like the American tip culture. In addition to the case of a tip box, some places offer a tablet screen that allows you to select tip prices by percent, saying, “What do you think about tips for hard-working employees?” when ordering. In Korea, the final price, including both VAT and service fees, must be indicated on the menu in accordance with the enforcement regulations of the Food Sanitation Act. Therefore, it is illegal to force customers by asking for tips. As such, Korea has a different system from the United States and the same minimum wage system is applied to workers, so there is a great reluctance among domestic consumers to the tip culture. Nevertheless, there is also an opinion that giving a certain amount of tip can work positively if you have received satisfactory service.
As for the tips paid as an appreciation for the service, the tip rate increased over time and the method changed. Both positive and negative responses to these tip cultures exist. I hope it will settle the bad points and establish itself as a good culture. In addition, since Korea has a different wage system from the United States, the unfamiliar tip culture will feel more burdensome to consumers, so the introduction of tip culture is not expected to be easy.
Sources:
https://blog.naver.com/mosfnet/223205743278
https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25199537#home
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2023/11/09/american-tipping-confusion-culture-study/
https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/10811532
https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/10815703
