We’ve left the below-zero cold of Minnesota for our annual Winter Summerland escape… Florida. We flew down a couple weeks ago and are renting a Beach Jeep & Bungalow in Delray / Palm Beach County.

On the flight down, I noticed this Fortune article with some good news. It suggests Gen Z is fundamentally changing tipping practices. How? They aren’t doing it! Even at sit-down restaurants.

While about 65% of people regularly tip at sit-down eateries, a BankRate study says only 35% of Gen Z adults do. That’s less than half the rate of Boomers (83%). It’s surprising since some members of the Gen Z cohort are likely still working as servers.

At the same time, I see restaurant billing practices are quite different in trendy Palm Beach than I see at home in ‘progressive’ Minnesota.

First, suggested tips on the sit-down restaurant bills are 15-20-25%, not the 20-25-30% I frequently see at home at counter-service restaurants. The couple counter-service restaurants we’ve been to don’t ask for a tip. Second, there aren’t any ‘Hospitality’, ‘Fair Wage’, or ‘Healthcare Fees’ quietly tacked on our bills.

Restaurants have joined airlines and car dealers as the most egregious pricing villains in our economy. I was beginning to think that all hope was lost. Now, I’m going to join the younger generation and trendy Floridians in cutting back on tipping sharply.

The pandemic’s over. It’s time to dial the clock back a few decades. I’m still going to support waitstaffs with tips, but back to the 15-20% range for a sit-down restaurant. Nothing for counter-service. Who’s with me on this?

Image Credit: TripAdvisor.com