Connecticut is One of the Most Generous States When it Comes to Tipping

There has been a lot of talk about "tipping culture" lately and how people think it has gotten completely out of hand.

More and more businesses are showing tip screens and there seems to be a growing frustration around the country about it. Now to me, this is a tricky subject. I have worked in the restaurant industry since I was 15 years old so I've seen some things. I know how humans are and I've learned a lot about people during that time. What I can conclude is that there are extremely crappy people and there are extremely generous people.

The whole tipping culture concept is that people now feel like they are expected to tip. In some circumstances, I feel like you are. If you are going out to eat dinner, you are expected to tip your server. If you are getting delivery, you are expected to tip your driver. Hair salon, you tip your stylist. But to me, that's just an automatic. You have someone doing you a service, so you pay them for it.

I think what's really getting to people is the amount of times they're shown a tip screen no matter where they are. And I get it, it can definitely get frustrating. How I see it, if I run to get a coffee and throw a few dollars in the tip jar, to me, it's nothing. But to the worker, it adds up and it helps them.

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I found this study that I thought was interesting. USA Today came out with a list of the 10 Best and Worst Tipping states. The state that tips the best in the entire country is California where it averages at about 22.6%. None of our neighbors sit in the top with us. The next state closest is Rhode Island at 20.5%.

Connecticut ranks at number 9 out of all 50 states with an average of 19.14%. Thank you Connecticut. As a server in the restaurant industry, we appreciate it. We try our best to give you the best experience we can while being in a high stress job for the entire time we're there.

The state that tops the leaderboard as the worst tipped state in the country is Illinois at 14.22%. I will keep a mental note to never work in that state.

I know there are always exceptions to anything so don't come for me, but in general, go out to eat. Support local. Tip your servers. Tip your bartenders and be a good human. That's really all we ask.