A Florida-based entrepreneur slammed “out of control” tipping culture in the US since he returned home from his Italian vacation, where he claims gratuity is almost non-existent.
Christian Bonnier, 23, believes the country is in a “tipflation” after he was forced to tip on a pumpkin spice latte that he had purchased in Miami and faced a “mandatory service charge” on his bill.
“Tipping in the United States is out of control,” he said on TikTok. “I didn’t even get the option to tip, I didn’t get asked if I wanted to tip, I had to tip as a part of my order.”
“The woman flipped the screen around to me and instead of clicking what percentage you want. It just said service charge,” he added
Bonnier admitted he would be more than happy to tip “on a three-course meal with good service” any day, but was shocked when the coffee shop workers hit him with the service charge.
The entrepreneur recalled his Italian getaway, saying he didn’t have to pay a dime in gratuity during his extravagant dinner.
“When I was in Italy over the summer, I had a three-course meal — the best pizza, the best pasta, the best wine I have ever had — and when I went to pay the bill, the server went to pay the bill and I just signed it and there was no line to tip,” Bonnier said.
Bonnier said that his waiter told him, “We don’t do tips here, we’re in Italy.”
“So you go from Italy, where you can have the best service of your life and there’s no tip, to Miami, where they pour you a cup of coffee and you are forced to tip or else you can’t get your coffee,” Bonnier went on.
“We are getting to a point now in America where people are going to ask for tips for grabbing you a water, for getting you a napkin, for holding the door for you.”
Viewers of Bonnier’s video, which gained over 1.8 million views, rushed to the comment section to agree that tipping in the US has gone to the extreme.
“I don’t tip unless it is a full service restaurant. If I have to stand and order and pay upfront, I don’t tip,” one person replied.
“I went to a restaurant to buy a gift card and the screen asked for a tip, 😂” another shared of their insane tipping experience.
Bonnier’s tipping rant comes months removed from a traveler’s experience at a self-checkout machine inside a New Jersey airport, where she was asked to tip.
The woman bought a chicken Caesar wrap and a Vita Coco coconut water from the cafe, as the screen flashed three tip options of 15%, 18%, and 20%.
Many Reddit users recognized the kiosk inside CIBO Express Gourmet Market at the Newark Airport, with some sharing their own experiences asking to tip at the kiosk machine.
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