Why the COVID-era 20% service fee at restaurants outlasted the pandemic

Many small businesses introduced automatic service charges during the pandemic. Nearly five years later, some say they’re still necessary.

Tipflation. Tip fatigue. Guilt fatigue. Whatever it’s called, the escalating trend of additional tips, service fees and upcharges are creeping into everyday life, and Americans are at a tipping point of their own. A March survey by WalletHub found that nearly three quarters of Americans think tipping has gotten out of hand, and 78% of those surveyed think the same of automatic service charges. Many consumers are ticked off at tipping and service charges and would happily do away with them.