Idahoans are some of the worst tippers in the nation, study says. Buying it?

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Normally, I’m a 20%, full-service tip kind of guy.

But hanging with friends on the patio of a Boise bar and grill Tuesday night, I tipped $20 on a $61.58 tab. We’d been treated well. And finger steaks put me in a generous mood.

At an outdoor concert hours earlier, I didn’t tip at all when I got handed two cans of beer. Transactions involved tokens. I had no cash, despite the “Feeling tipsy?” bucket stuffed with a few dollar bills.

At a food truck last Friday, I tipped 15% on a $15 order. I was too lazy to select “custom” on the touchscreen for any lesser consideration. That made the total cost of a foil-wrapped burrito over $18. At least it came with two plastic ramekins of salsa.

No matter how randomly I might seem to tip, though, a new study says I’m probably a cheapskate overall.

Idahoans are the third-worst tippers in the entire nation, according to an article from LendingTree.

Our neighbors in Utah are the worst — if that makes you feel any better.

New Hampshire residents tip the most, LendingTree says.

But should we even buy any of these claims?

Best or worst?

In 2017, Time published data from payment processing company Square that ranked Idahoans as the best tippers in America. No. 1!

Two years later, a survey of more than 2,500 people from Moneypenny ranked Idaho as the worst state for tipping — and New Hampshire, again, as the best.

Who’s correct? Either? None? It depends on how much stock you put into the methodology. You can read LendingTree’s strategy at the bottom of its article. But overall, “to estimate tipping behavior by state, we analyzed 2023 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) National Food Expenditure Series data. Specifically, we compared two expenditure estimates: total spending on food away from home (including tax and tip) and total spending on food away from home (excluding tax and tip).”

The two main findings I found interesting:

• “Americans spent $77.6 billion on tips for food purchased to be consumed away from home in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. Tips accounted for 15.02% of spending at full-service restaurants in the U.S. When including limited-service restaurants, drinking establishments and other similar places, that percentage falls to 6.75%.”
• In New Hampshire, tips “comprised 16.07% of spending on food purchased to be consumed away from home … The District of Columbia and South Carolina are second and third. Utah, Mississippi and Idaho rank lowest, with tips comprising 5.10% or less of spending. (Note: These percentages include tips for full-service restaurants, limited-service restaurants and drinking establishments, among others.)“

Service fees, credit card charges

Clearly, my tipping habits can be all over the map. Like many Idahoans and other Americans, I suspect.

That’s probably why some brave restaurants and bars quietly add a “service fee.” An 18% ding is typical. Sometimes 20%. You see it most often when a restaurant is serving parties of six or more customers.

Lots of people detest service fees. Myself included. Sometimes, businesses wind up reversing course.

I want the freedom to tip when and how I choose. We all know it’s a tough industry, but I can’t get behind a forced gratuity. Especially when it may or may not even go to the server. Or the restaurant claims the service fee is about paying fair wages and is somehow different from a tip.

I’m also going to flat-out avoid any restaurant or bar that adds a credit card surcharge. Adjust prices accordingly and offer a cash discount instead — like my auto mechanic.

Are these feelings irrational? Probably.

Has tipping culture gone way off the rails in the United States? Definitely.

Are Idahoans really the third-worst tippers in the country? Possibly.

Either way, if you are not a Statesman subscriber — heck, even if you are — please feel free to Venmo me a gratuity.