Society in the United States has apparently gotten to the point where gratuities for robots and when your vehicle is impounded are not only requested; but also expected. Purchasing office furniture and items via a drive-thru business purportedly does not automatically exempt you from the practice of giving extra money — virtually for no reason — even if you serve yourself from a completely automated kiosk and do all of the work.
Gratuities For Robots and When Your Vehicle Is Impounded?
Almost three out of four people believe that the culture of tipping and gratuities in the United States has gotten out of control, according to John Oliver in this video of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which was released last month. Please be aware that the language that is used in the video may not be suitable for all audiences.
In that video are allegations that the mortgage company of one customer and the company of a motorist whose vehicle has been impounded both have suggested gratuities for their services. Perhaps this nefarious practice could even extend to the services of driverless vehicles.
A person who identifies as Excellent_Walk_1058 recently reported on Reddit that before they left the premium Delta One lounge at Los Angeles International Airport, “…the server gave us a laminated card with his personal Venmo Account so we could give him a tip. It had the Delta One logo on the bottom.”
Venmo Tip Card at Delta One Lounge LAX
byu/Excellent_Walk_1058 indelta
Worse is that both Kamala Harris and Donald J. Trump both endorsed the idea of no tax on gratuities as part of their campaign promises when they were running for president of the United States last year. Now that Trump has been elected for a second term, he pledged to carry out that promise…
…but if it actually comes to fruition, will it actually help the people who rely on gratuities for a living — or will it incentivize companies to shift more of the responsibility of funding the income of their employees to their customers so that they can pay fewer taxes on payroll?
Final Boarding Call
As it has become an ingrained part of travel within the United States and various locations elsewhere in the world, The Gate With Brian Cohen has been covering many aspects of tipping and gratuities for years — and the practice has gotten to the point where it seems like workers are begging for mandatory gratuities or even chasing down patrons outside of a restaurant who did not leave enough of a tip.
Before eradication of this scourge could begin, we must ask ourselves why we are practically required to leave a gratuity with someone in the first place. If the answer is to support the income of servers and other workers — regardless of their performance — because they are not paid enough with their jobs, then the current system of tipping is irretrievably broken and sorely needs to be eliminated.
My stance for years on tipping and gratuities is that I vehemently oppose the practice for a variety of reasons. If you travel, you should despise this practice as well.
Tips and gratuities should be treated as a gift and not be a requirement — and it should only be reserved for when a completed service or product is significantly better than expected. I have no problem giving someone a gratuity when I believe that I have received exemplary service.
Additionally, the sub-minimum federal wage of $2.13 per hour — which has been in effect since 1991, which is 34 years ago — needs to be abolished. That is inhumane in 2025, as no one can possibly live on that salary — which, of course, fuels the obscene tipping culture which we all currently experience. Eliminating the tax on gratuities for workers will only exacerbate this problem, which will only become more complex, as I outlined in this editorial.
The state of Kansas will float out to sea and become an island in the middle of an ocean before the day comes where I will tip somebody who works for an impound lot — not that I have ever had my car impounded — or where I will leave a gratuity with a fully automated machine…
Photograph ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
