Get ready to hear about a tipping situation that has many folks shaking their heads in disbelief. Imagine you're out for a casual night at a bar, and when it comes time to pay your tab, you're hit with some jaw-dropping tip options. That's exactly what happened to Gordon Kling at the Catalina Lounge in Ocean Beach, San Diego.
Gordon Kling had a $24.50 tab, but when he went to pay, he was presented with a 100% tip option, which would have doubled his bill to $49! The other tip choices weren’t much better: 50%, which added $12.25, or the more "moderate" 25% and 20% options.
When Kling posted an image of these options online, it quickly sparked outrage. Many people felt the bar was trying to take advantage of unsuspecting and possibly inebriated patrons. One person commented, "There is no way somebody hasn't accidentally tipped 100% thinking that 'oh that's just the total, that's the one I want'. That's deliberately misleading."
Kling shared his own reaction, explaining that he was quite drunk and took the photo to double-check in the morning. His suspicion was confirmed, leading to disbelief and laughter from others who saw the post. One user noted, "Catalina Lounge is a dive, too. All these bars in PB and OB prey on drunk guys on dates."
The discussion didn't stop there. Some people shared their experiences, comparing it to other bars in Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach, where they’d seen high but not as extreme tip suggestions.
Kling and others agreed that the bar might be counting on patrons misreading the options, especially after a few drinks. One user said, "Actually that's clever at a bar - gives servers an incentive to increase sales b/c the more drunk the patron gets the more that 100 will look like 10%."
The issue of "guilt-tipping" also came up. This phenomenon, where people feel pressured to tip more than they want to, is becoming more common. Research shows that Americans are spending an extra $453 a year on tips due to this pressure. In fact, a new poll by Talker Research found that over a quarter of surveyed consumers often feel forced to tip more than they’d like.
This isn’t just a bar issue; tipping culture is spreading everywhere from restaurants to convenience stores. A recent study found that three-quarters of Americans think tipping has gone too far. Many believe the solution lies in raising the minimum wage to reduce the reliance on tips.
While tipping is most common in restaurants (with 59% of people tipping at dinner) and for food delivery (43.8%), it’s less frequent in places like convenience stores, where only 4.9% of people add gratuity.