‘It’s out of control’: the fight against US ‘tip-creep’

With tipping reported at self-checkouts, drive-throughs and even vending machines, some consumers are pushing back

When Garrett Petters, a 29-year-old architect in Dallas, and his girlfriend travelled to Paris last year, one of their favourite parts was eating out. They enjoyed French duck, andouillette, plenty of bread, cheese and coffee and even escargot.

But it wasn't just Paris's cuisine they admired. It was also the different tipping culture. We were talking about how nice it is in Europe that they pay their waiters and waitresses and we don't have to tip because of it, and isn't that cool," Petters said. It felt very different from back in the US, where tipping culture felt out of control".