Tip jar at a hotel breakfast buffet sparks backlash: ‘Fill the jar with cereal’

‘A tip jar for what exactly?’

A Reddit user has gone viral after they came across a tip jar displayed at a hotel continental breakfast. Now, their post has sparked frustration as users lament tipping culture in the United States.

Earlier this week, Reddit user u/BabyBear1060 shared a picture of the dismal tip jar, which was set up next to a self-service cereal bar. The clear jar had just a handful of dollar bills already placed inside, with a handwritten sign taped to it that read: “Tip Jar”

The user revealed in the comments that the breakfast setup included a waffle iron on one side of the juice machine, but there was no attendant manning the waffles. “Everything was pour it yourself,” they said. “Nobody was walking around cleaning tables either.”

In the post, which was shared to the Reddit forum r/mildlyinfuriating, they simply captioned the photo: “Self service continental breakfast”.

With more than 3,000 comments, the photo sparked outrage amongst fellow Reddit users who believed that tipping culture has gotten out of hand.

“So...You make yourself breakfast then take a tip right?” asked one Reddit user.

“A tip jar for what exactly? Damn if I were to eat there I’d suppose it’s for me and I’d take some money,” another wrote.

“Fill the jar with cereal,” someone else suggested, while another wrote: “You must tip yourself after making your own breakfast.”

Others took the moment to call out “guilt tipping” at self-checkout – in which tip screens or jars at self-checkout lines influence customers to leave more sizable tips when they normally wouldn’t.

“The fact that people have put money in the jar, really says a lot about the tipping culture and how people feel like they have to tip pretty much everywhere,” said one user.

“In this situation, I refuse to tip. If I see attendants making sure things are stocked, cleaning up little spills left by patrons, wiping tables, etc, I might tip,” another person said. “But not always.”

A third user simply wrote: “As an American, I hate tipping culture with a passion.”

In May, a report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that tipping practices in the US have rapidly changed since the Covid-19 pandemic, as customers are being prompted to leave tips in self-checkout lines at airports, grocery stores, stadiums, and cafes.

Some Americans went so far as to suggest that being prompted to tip in a self-checkout situation feels like “emotional blackmail”.

In the US, it’s customary to leave between 15 and 20 per cent of the total bill before tax is included. Some people say that 18 per cent is the bare minimum, while others argue that a 20 per cent tip is standard – for restaurants, fast-casual establishments, food delivery drivers, and bartenders.

Last month, another Reddit user went viral after revealing that they were asked to tip at a self-checkout line at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The woman rang up a pre-packaged chicken caesar wrap for $14.99 and a bottle of Vita coconut water for $6.39 at the self-checkout kiosk for a total of $23.05.

Then, she was prompted to leave a tip at the self-checkout machine. “It finally happened. I was prompted to tip at the airport self-checkout station,” she wrote.