There always have been questions about when to tip, who to tip and how much to tip. But it seems answers to those tipping questions changed during the COVID pandemic.

A survey by the Pew Research Center this summer found 72% say tipping is expected in more places now. During the COVID pandemic, we started tipping more to front line workers and those who rely on tips.

Elaine Swann is the most nationally recognized lifestyle and etiquette expert in the country and is the founder of The Swann School of Protocol. She appeared on The Spark Monday, saying there have been changes to tipping protocol,"There are some instances where we're seeing that we're being asked to tip in other areas that we normally wouldn't have. I don't necessarily agree with all of those areas, for example, but self-service check out, that's a no. So everyone should refuse tipping in that instance. But yeah, we're starting to find more places and I think there's just a lot of things have changed. Employers are trying to add perks for their employees and they're putting it on the backs of consumers. And then, of course, we have the electronic devices that were used using all the software that adds that tipping feature in. And so it's just showing up everywhere. I mean, so many people are winning, but it's not it's not as easy on the consumers. So my recommendation is to really go with some some standard guidelines."

What are the standard tipping guidelines,"Go with with its original what it was originally meant for, which is to improve prompt service. A tip should go to those individuals who really have improved their the service. They've somehow given you some sort of service that was above and beyond -- someone who's really been there for you. If we're looking at the holiday season there, the person who has really did great with you during the entire year, or if it's just that across the counter thing, maybe you can bypass that tip jar that's on the counter regularly. But if that person goes above and beyond the service, then that's an instance when you can tip. So bottom line, if someone does something great for you, then you can certainly tip them. And we're talking about outside of the actual restaurant industry, standard tipping in the restaurant industry still remains. Swann said that's still a recommended tip to servers of 15-18%.

It’s the holiday season when we often appreciate service rendered to us throughout the year and reward with tips. Swann recommended,"I'm sharing with you the new standard for holiday tipping. And that's what I refer to as the 20, 30 and 50% rule. And so what you'll do is look at the service and how they provide a service for you throughout the year, and you can tip 20% above for good service, 30% above for great service or 50% or more above your normal rate that you pay for excellent service. So, for example, if you normally pay 100 bucks to your hairdresser and we were pretty good throughout the year, give them a 20% tip or more if it's your babysitter or your gardener and you pay on a weekly basis and you say what, this person has been fantastic. I'm going to give them 100%. I'm going to give them a whole week's pay or a whole night's pay above what I normally do or 50% of what you do. So it really has to do with the amount that you normally pay and the level of service that they provided. So this way it really works for everyone's pocket, regardless of if you're on the East Coast or if you're here in California, along the coastline or out in the valley somewhere."

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