Iowa Has A Very Interesting Tipping Culture

Is anyone else getting presented more often with the option to tip...and feeling obligated to?

Personally, I just always tip 20%, even if the service was awful, if what I got wasn't what I ordered, it doesn't matter. I'll always tip to help out the folks behind the bar or counter. But lately, there's been more turning of the iPad with the tip options and it's starting to feel like more pressure. There's more to tipping culture in Iowa though and it's time to unravel it.

The Pressure

If you feel like you're being pressured to tip more lately, you're not alone. A recent study by LendingTree found that 60% of Americans are tipping more as technology urges us to (as in, the iPads get turned around at the bar when we get our coffee). The "guilt tip" is a thing when we may not want to tip but we feel like we have to because minimum wage is so low.

The Law

According to legal website NOLO, Iowa law lets employers take up to 40% tip credit. Tip Credit is the difference between minimum wage and what the employee makes in tips. So legally, the employer doesn't have to pay the employee minimum wage if their tips can make up the difference. For Iowa specifically, an employer can pay an employee $4.35 if the employee can make up the difference between it and $7.25 in tips. In Iowa, employers can require 'tip pooling', which is where everyone pitches in their tips and the total amount is divided among the employees.

The Etiquette

Turns out, Iowa is really quite good at tipping, ranking at number 16 in the nation for it (though for some reason that same kindness doesn't extend to our bartenders on average). The national average tipping percent is 19%, Iowa averages 20%. So keep on keeping on. TODAY.com broke down how we're all feeling about tipping and chatted with an etiquette expert on what to do:

• Tip 20% on average dine-in and delivery orders
• For take-out, a tip of 10-15% is acceptable

So keep that Iowa nice thing going for tipping!