Tipping Culture: When the Heck Should You Actually Tip?
episode
Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel
43 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 3 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What are the current social expectations around tipping in 2026?
Here's one for your next family dinner, tipping in 2026. You have feelings, we have feelings, and the social expectations change by the day. It's time to set the record straight. Oh,
Ashante. I just want you to loosen up a little bit.
Only funerals? Not like a birthday, a get well soon. Only death. Do you deserve flowers?
Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.
I'm George Camel.
And this is
Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, Jordan. Cheers. Lovely.
Great. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about, everything from pop culture, current events, and money.
And before we get into it, let's talk about what we're sipping on. This is a cherry Aperol spritz. Sure, I don't think about cherries very often, but why not? Me either. Are cherries under thought of? Are they underrepresented in the fruit world? Probably, because
they usually have a big seed, right? Don't cherries have a seed?
Yeah. Tough to
eat.
Yeah, nobody wants to deal with seeds in 2026. We got enough going on.
We need more convenience
with that. Watermelons went seedless. They figured that out.
They did. How did that happen?
They got good PR, apparently.
Oh, man.
That's fine. Hey, we're going to give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. Or if you want to skip ahead and get the recipe, make it while you listen. Who am I to stop you? It's your American right. All
right. Well, George, one thing I don't think we always agree on, tipping.
You are a very generous tipper, and it makes you a better person than me. I'm okay with that.
Not always. Sometimes I'm taken advantage of. Sometimes I just feel bad.
Yeah. But
then sometimes I have a hard line of not.
Really? But
we'll talk about,
yeah. Oh, maybe we flip-flop. Maybe things I would tip on that you don't.
No, you wouldn't tip on what I don't tip on, but I'm sure we'll get into it in the episode. But this is a hot topic. It always is. Because there's always like a gray.
Yes.
Gray middle. No one really knows where to land. There's some classic percentages that are kind of a go-to in certain industries, but sometimes it's kind of like...
And it's changed. I don't know. We did an episode on this a couple years back, and the game has changed. Yeah.
Okay, so I found this interesting. You ready? So
there
was a recent study that said that men are twice as likely as women to tip between 21% and 25%. Wow, women, I couldn't believe this, tend to tip between 11% and 20%.
I'm guessing men did this study. Okay. I mean, I'm going to defy the stats today, I guess. We'll see.
Which I am kind of shocked. You think a woman's like, listen, I could do that too. Like she doesn't need that much.
I feel like women in general though are more generous than men.
Usually that's kind of a stereotype, but I feel
that way too. Like less stingy. Like a woman on a first date is like, he better be tipping well.
Yeah. Yeah.
And the guy feels that pressure of like, oh, I got to impress her.
Got to impress her. Well, the study also said that over 70% of people reported that the quality of service impacts how much they tip. Would
you say that's
true?
Yeah.
For you? Did you change your tip really based on service?
Yes, usually there's a standard default, but then if they do excellent, there's more. Okay. Unless it was like horrible, horrible, how does this place exist, you might lower it a little bit. But I've never tipped, like for a meal, for example, I'm never, ever going to tip a low 15%. Sure,
yes.
But the default for me is 20%.
Okay,
same. And if it's amazing, like they made our night, it was very special.
You'll go
up. Go up from there.
Yes. You know, it's funny, if we have bad service, Winston could be a 15%er. He will gauge it. I
want to let them know I didn't have a great time.
Yeah, yes, because sometimes you have terrible service.
Well, and if you always take 20%, if they're terrible, they're going to think, I'm
crushing it. No, do you know what I think? I always think if we have a horrible waiter and he never comes back, gets stuff wrong, I always think something is going on in his life. And I bet it's so overwhelming
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the current social expectations around tipping in 2026?
0:05–6:02
2
How do gender differences affect typical tip percentages?
6:02–11:20
3
When should you tip for nail and pedicure services?
11:20–16:28
4
Do you tip hairstylists and barbers, and how much?
16:28–21:28
5
Is an automatic gratuity on hotel room service considered a tip?
21:28–27:03
6
Should you tip valet parking, and what about pre‑priced valet?
27:03–32:51
7
Are wedding vendors (photographers, planners, etc.) expected to be tipped?
32:51–38:23
8
What is the best practice for tipping food delivery drivers?
38:23–42:55
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel
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