Rantz: Here’s why Seattle residents vow to stop tipping in new year

The Seattle tipping culture might go the way of Blockbuster Video, landlines, and the Microsoft Zune. Fueled by frustration over skyrocketing minimum wages and relentless “tipflation,” Seattle residents are saying, “Enough is enough” to tips.

As Seattle ushers in the new year, a growing number of residents are pledging to stop tipping much or even altogether. This movement, gaining traction on Reddit, is a direct response to the city’s escalating minimum wage, which will rise to $20.76 an hour in 2025, up from $19.97 in 2024. Reddit Seattle has been buzzing on the topic of tipping. With Seattle now boasting one of the highest minimum wages in the nation, many in Seattle question the necessity of tipping on top of already substantial wages, especially in the context of escalating prices in restaurants and retail. One Reddit user encapsulated the sentiment, stating, “I’m done tipping 10-20% come January 1st.”

“With Seattle’s new minimum wage going into effect really soon, most food industry workers are finally reaching a level playing field. As a result, I’ll no longer be tipping more than 5-10%. And I’m ONLY doing that if service is EXCEPTIONAL,” one user pledged.

More from Jason Rantz: Panic as Seattle restaurants may not survive massive minimum wage shift

Why are Seattle residents rejecting tips in the new year?

The city’s minimum wage ordinance, which mandates annual increases based on inflation, was supposedly designed to ensure a “living wage” for all workers. But the Seattle minimum wage crusade came with unintended consequences. Consumers complain about ‘tipping fatigue,’ exacerbated by ‘tipflation,’ where suggested gratuities have risen in tandem with wages.

“I went to a restaurant in cap hill where you ordered by qr code, called your name out and you have to place your [own] dishes in a bin, but the tip was still auto set to 18,20, and 25. I just don’t understand what service this owner is providing that goes beyond a mcdonalds employee besides making higher quality food which is reflected in the prices,” a Seattle Redditor noted.

Tipping culture went from rewarding exceptional to service to an expectation regardless of service. Then, thanks to political activism, tipping also became about supplementing wages. But it’s hard to justify tipping when workers are getting considerably high wages for little work or skill.

“A cake shop in Seattle recently posted a job for a cake slicer,” another user posted. “The pay something around $18-20/hour plus tips that avg $18-22/hour. If accurate, a cake slicer is making upwards of $40/hour. The service is walk up, order, pay, then sit and wait for your name to walk up and grab your cake slice. The cake and shop are amazing and I’d recommend anyone give them their business. However, it was eye-opening to see what the habit of customers (myself included) adding a tip on the iPad checkout system can amount to.”

“There’s a sandwich place I like where you order from a kiosk and the machine ask you if you wanna tip 18 20 or 22. Or custom. And yeah they make your sandwich and call out your name and you pick it up. I’ve been putting in zero for a while now. And zero when I order a $4 drip coffee,” another Seattle Reddit user posted.

More from Jason Rantz: After crime crisis cost him his insurance, business owner vows to stop paying taxes in protest

Seattle says no to tip creep

At the same time, consumers are being asked to tip where they haven’t been asked before, such as bakeries or doggy daycare, thanks to digital payment systems that provide this option. The so-called “tip creep” has intensified consumer frustration, with many adopting a zero-tipping stance as a form of protest against what they perceive as an overreach in tipping culture.

“Went to pike place market to get a local gift for my parents for their Christmas gift- their favorite blackberry balsamic. Its like $30+ for their product, but I noticed when I went to check out, it very stealthily gave me 15,20,25,30% tip options and there was no way around tipping unless you looked really close to hit either ‘custom’ or ‘skip,'” one Seattle Redditor posted. “Sorry not sorry. SKIP! You literally grabbed a bottle from behind the counter and put it in a brown paper bag and you want a tip? Starting at 15% being the lowest ….. for putting a product in a brown paper bag.”

“I will only tip for service at our table. Being asked to tip before receiving a meal is a no go. Being asked to tip because someone handed me a loaf of bread across the counter and then operated a till, not a chance…” another stated.

Restaurants in for a rude awakening

Seattle restaurant operators are panicked ahead of a minimum wage update that will now prevent tips and benefits from being deducted from hourly wages. For some Seattle restaurants, it will add about $45,000 in expenses per month that they don’t have.

When Seattle leaders hastily passed a $15 minimum wage hike, they offered a 10-year ramp-up period for small businesses (those with 500 or fewer employees). Under the current formula, restaurants may pay a $17.25 hourly wage if their employees earn at least $2.72 in tips per hour or in medical benefits. In 2025, this practice ends and the city of Seattle has refused to step in and help already-struggling restaurants.

“I know everybody wants to say, ‘Just raise things [on the menu] a dollar or two,’ and that’s what it’ll be. That’s very simplified math. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. This is a large increase that’s probably large enough to be equal to or close to what most restaurants in Seattle profit,” chef and restaurateur Ethan Stowell told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Ironically, it’s the tipped workers who will end up worse off.

More from Jason Rantz: As crimes target Asians, Washington Democrat pushes ‘kimchi day’ as holiday

Restaurant staff won’t benefit

Without tips, servers who once made $40-$50 an hour during busy shifts could find themselves stuck at Seattle’s flat-rate minimum wage if or when tipping culture changes or ends.

“The fact that people are still asking for tips after getting paid a ‘living wage’ is hilarious,” a Seattle Reddit user put it.

The minimum wage increases were supposed to make life easier for workers, but instead, they’ve alienated the very customers these businesses depend on. With labor costs through the roof, business owners are forced to hike prices to compensate. The result? Sticker shock for diners and fewer people willing to tip—or even eat out at all. And when tipping disappears entirely, service charges may become the norm, further driving away customers who are sick of paying more for less.

“I’m going a step further. I’m done going out period,” another posted. “My wife and I went out, she got a mid price entrée and I ordered off the happy hour menu. We each got 2 drinks (wells for her and beer for me). The total was $90 so with tip over $100. It just doesn’t make sense anymore. The only reason we went out was because I just flew in from a work trip. No more. I’m done getting mediocre food and service for crazy $$$.”

Seattle progressives are killing tips

Seattle’s progressive policies never seem to account for unintended consequences, and this is no different. When wages are artificially inflated and tipping becomes an obligation rather than an option, it’s hard to justify spending so much as consumers.

This anti-tipping wave isn’t just a Seattle problem—it’s a sign of things to come. As other cities flirt with similarly ridiculous wage policies, we’ll likely see tipping culture die off nationwide. And when it does, we’ll all lose out—consumers, businesses, and, yes, even the workers progressives claim to protect. Because there’s still a cost to the business, particular restaurants and bars, with these wage hikes. And even in Seattle, we’re only willing to spend so much on a meal.

“Went to a donut shop this morning on Capitol Hill, got a dozen box for $30, the screen presents me with a minimum suggestion of $7.50….all the staff member did was put the donuts in a box, took about 70 seconds….I noped out of that, gave a $2 custom tip but honestly I’m not sure even why that is fair,” another user said.

Seattle Reddit users are sending a clear message: if businesses and local politicians won’t stop gouging them, they’ll take matters into their own hands. Come January 1st, tipping will be another casualty of Seattle’s obsession with progressive overreach. And frankly, who can blame them?

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz