Have you ever "guilt tipped?" You're not alone, here's what experts want you to know

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Tipping, it’s becoming more and more omnipresent and many people are growing weary of being asked to tip everyone who serves them.

When you eat at a sit-down restaurant, you expect to leave a tip as a display of gratitude to the person who served you, but these days the tip jar is being replaced by the touchscreen and those screens all ask for tips.

“With technology making it to where more and more different types of businesses and service providers can ask for tips, that has been a big change for folks,” said Matt Schultz of LendingTree. “It’s really rubbed some folks the wrong way, no question about it.”

A survey by Bankrate finds 66 percent (or about two-thirds) of people have a negative view about tipping these day.

“I think it’s just like overpaying everywhere,” said Kapisha Saigal.

“There’s no question there can be a little bit of pressure when the person behind the counter turns that tablet around and you’re faced with those tip options,” said Schultz. “It’s a natural thing because you don’t want to disappoint the person in front of you, even if they’re somebody that you’ve never seen before.”

It’s called “guilt tipping” but not everybody is offended by the additional tipping requests.

“I’ve been more excited to tip whether it’s a coffee shop or places that we historically haven’t tipped,” said Bree Knotts.

“The ways technology and the payment applications allow you to easily add a dollar or 10% on top of the price of your coffee, it’s become way more convenient to tip,” she said.

Even so, Bankrate found frequency of tipping has been declining steadily over the past few years. Not only restaurants, but for hair stylists, food delivery workers and even taxi drivers.

Tipping prompts are everywhere.

Those screens with pre-entered tip amounts are a pet peeve of 32 per cent of us according to Bankrate.

Servers in N.C. restaurants are only paid $2.13 an hour under state law which allows it so long as the employee receives enough in tips to make up the difference between the wages paid and the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

The manager at Smashed Burgers in Holly Springs says tips are very important for his employees.

“I think it’s vital, “said Josh Romkey, “Anyone that is coming out to dine should be mindful of that.

“The servers here in this hospitality industry pay their bills with with the tips that are provided,” he said.

Romkey also sees a variance in tipping practices.

“Some folks I know usually tip 15 to 18 during lunchtime,” he said. “Dinner is a little bit more elevated. The industry standard is 20%.”

Frequency of tipping tends to break down along generational lines according to Bankrate.

Only 35 percent of Gen Z always tip their server at a sit-down restaurant, compared to 83 percent of Boomers who tip for the same services.

Women are more likely to tip than men for most services according to the study.

Jenn Wagner worked as a waitress in high school and college to pay her bills and said that experience has carried over into her adult life when it comes to tipping.

“It’s not about the food when I tip at all, It’s about the staff and what they’ve done and the service they’ve provided me,
she said. “If I had a bad meal, I’m still going to tip 20 plus percent as long as I had good service.”

Where you live also influences tipping.

Bankrate says: