Tipping is one of the many unspoken rules in America: expected, often confusing, and a little awkward. For teens, it may feel like navigating a minefield. Many youths find themselves asking a variety of questions, as nobody has told them the standard percentage, whether to use cash or a card, or when it’s socially acceptable to leave a tip.
Isabella Aguilar-Lingo worked at La Cantina for several months, where tips were collected at nearly every table. For Aguilar-Lingo, tipping is more about culture than rules. “I usually got tipped for every table I served,” she said. Outside of work, she leaves tips at sit-down restaurants and for delivery orders, but not at fast-food restaurants. “I think in America we have a whole economy based on hospitality, and then people started tipping based on the hospitality,” Aguilar-Lingo explained. This perspective reflects both social responsibilities and a practical understanding of tipping, having been raised in the restaurant world. Aguilar-Lingo said, “Someone could be slacking off but still get the same amount of tips as you,” giving insight into her thoughts on tip pools.
Addy Showalter, who worked at West End for just under a year, shares an opposing take. Showalter was part of a tip pool at work, meaning all money left by tables was made communal and split equally among staff. “I feel like it’s pretty fair because that way, nobody’s feeling like they’re doing worse than anybody else,” Showalter said. Peer influence affects these tip amounts, as shown in a 2023 survey done by the Pew Research Center, 38% of Americans under 30 say it feels like an obligation, compared with older generations. Showalter said, “Some teens can act semi-entitled, but this stereotype causes servers to treat all teens differently, which leads to no tip, a repeated cycle.”
Teens immediately face a stigma when entering restaurants without adults. Servers sometimes expect lower amounts of gratuity from younger groups, and this expectation can influence service before any interaction begins. When a server assumes a group may not tip, there’s less incentive to prioritize that table. Slower service, fewer check-ins, and more may follow, which lowers the likelihood of tipping, even when a group initially planned to tip. Showalter described how this cycle repeats and strengthens itself, “Servers expect teens not to tip, so they sometimes treat them differently. Then when the service isn’t great, the teens don’t tip,” she said. Over time, these interactions reinforce the original assumption, making it true. Work experience does change how teens view tipping, as exposure to service work brings awareness to the efforts made daily by servers and hosts. Showalter noted that she was more likely to tip after starting her job, while Aguilar-Lingo had grown up in a culture of tipping and was always aware of the expectations.
Tips are expected and closely observed, especially in the Western Hemisphere, and people of all age groups leave gratuity based on perceived service quality, social influence, and personal experience. For some, this understanding comes through after working in service environments. For others, it may come through interactions with family, friends, or social media. What began as uncertainty at the table becomes a learned part of everyday behavior, shaped by expectation.
