Jimmy Failla claps back at ‘The New Rules of Tipping’
Fox Across America host Jimmy Failla said the guilt trip associated with tipping generously and more frequently is taking advantage of good-intentioned Americans.
Americans shouldn’t tip more for worse service, which would ultimately encourage "the soft bigotry of low expectations" that has permeated society, Fox News’ Jimmy Failla said.
"Sometimes a bad tip is more empathetic than a good tip," the Fox Across America host said. "Nobody wants to hear it, but I'm telling you as a guy who earned a lot of bad tips as a [cab] driver."
Earlier this month, New York Magazine's Grub Street published "The New Rules of Tipping," which asserted that "the previous range of socially acceptable and ethically expected tips" has raised from the 15 to 20% range up to 20 to 25%. According to the article, the new societal expectations for tips are 25% at restaurants, 20% at coffee shops and bodegas, 20% for food delivery, 10% for food pickup and at least 20% for everything else.
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"The higher your disposable income, the more you should tip, but anything under 20 percent is rude," the article states. "This goes for whether you’re at an Olive Garden or I Sodi and whether you liked the service or not."
Failla said customers are increasingly on edge about tipping because "it's been crowbarred into aspects of our life that never involved tipping."
"We got to this place with tipping culture where there's an automatic moment of judgment injected into every single transaction now," the Fox Across America host said. "People have good intentions, but they're almost being taken advantage of now because you're getting a suggested tip on every screen."
Customers are increasingly faced with iPads recommending tipping options in businesses ranging from coffee shops to convenience stores. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans are tipping for a wider range of services since businesses have switched to using this technology, according to a September survey by PlayUSA. More than half of respondents said they tipped when they normally wouldn’t because of the iPad prompt.
"It's like, I shouldn't be seeing a tip screen at the pediatrician's office," Failla joked. "But it's everywhere now."
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Fox News' Jimmy Failla said iPad's at checkout have turned tipping into a "guilt trip combined with this tacky standoff." (Fox News )
Failla blamed credit cards and the implementation of iPads at checkout on the newfound pressure around tipping.
"When you were paying cash, you were never confronted at the end of the meal with a face-to-face, ‘hey, would you like to give 20%? Would you like to give 30%?’" he said.
"They basically have a button that’s like ‘just hit the bottom button and say you hate this person and you don't care if she raises her kids properly,’" he joked. "It's like this guilt trip combined with this tacky standoff."
Grub Street argued that tipping below its guidelines is "rude" and that these are "just the rules; don't complain." But Failla said "you can't be worried about being rude."
"If you encourage bad service with a big tip, guess what? The table after you is getting more bad service," he said. "Going out to dinner now really has become like the Oregon Trail — by the time your food arrives, some people aren't even alive anymore."
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Failla acknowledged that many restaurants are understaffed and servers are overworked, "but that's not a reason to subject anyone to the soft bigotry of low expectations," he said. "I think as a consumer, you have to still be entitled to a voice."
Grub Street said the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation mean consumers should tip strained service workers more to subsidize low wages. Persistent inflation has kept pushing prices higher, with the consumer price index rising 6.4% in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
New York Magazine's Grub Street published "The New Rules of Tipping" which says the old standard of tipping 15%-20% "isn’t going to cut it anymore." (AP Newsroom)
"Everything's more expensive. You're paying more for your food, you're paying more for every other aspect of your life," Failla said. "Instead of actually trying to collectively address the issue of inflation, they're just literally passing the buck on to the consumer and pitting us against one another."
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Failla reflected on his own experience on the receiving end of bad tips.
"Certain jobs are supposed to suck because they forced you to apply yourself to work harder," he said. "The fact that my cab driving job was as terrible as it was is why I have a nationally syndicated talk show."
To watch the full interview with Failla, click here.
