We've all been there: Staring at a screen that prompts you to "leave a tip," and three options to press. How much should you tip for a meal these days? How about a coffee or a hot dog at a baseball game? In this episode, Clare and guest host Brandi Fullwood dig into the data on tipping, and how it impacts workers in restaurants of all shapes and sizes. 

Listen to Brandi's podcast Seattle Eats wherever you're listening to this episode. 

Have a question we should answer on the show? Click here to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
The Land of the Fee (2021), Throughline from NPR, 2021
Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape, Pew Research Center, 2022
Average Restaurant Tip Percentages & Tipping Trends in the U.S. (2026), Toast, 2026
Square Food & Beverage Data Reveals Higher Tipping Rates and Growing "High-Low" Spending Pattern, Square, 2026
A Critical Exploration of Tipping Practices in the American Hospitality Landscape from a Qualitative Approach, 2024

We've all been there: Staring at a screen that prompts you to "leave a tip," and three options to press. How much should you tip for a meal these days? How about a coffee or a hot dog at a baseball game? In this episode, Clare and guest host Brandi Fullwood dig into the data on tipping, and how it impacts workers in restaurants of all shapes and sizes.&nbsp;
Listen to Brandi's podcast Seattle Eats wherever you're listening to this episode.&nbsp;
Have a question we should answer on the show? <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/29/1089587173/the-land-of-the-fee-2021">The Land of the Fee (2021)</a>, Throughline from NPR, 2021</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/09/tipping-culture-in-america-public-sees-a-changed-landscape/">Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape</a>, Pew Research Center, 2022</li>
<li><a href="https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/data/restaurant-tipping-trends?srsltid=AfmBOoq6_qA3hWMRiD6SJ-Fv9tOSHJbs81M8j5Z2RZHLFLBAo6lsZUoc">Average Restaurant Tip Percentages &amp; Tipping Trends in the U.S. (2026)</a>, Toast, 2026</li>
<li><a href="https://squareup.com/us/en/press/food-beverage-q1-2026-data">Square Food &amp; Beverage Data&nbsp;Reveals Higher Tipping Rates and&nbsp;Growing "High-Low" Spending Pattern</a>, Square, 2026</li>
<li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1528008X.2024.2443762">A Critical Exploration of Tipping Practices in the American Hospitality Landscape from a Qualitative Approach</a>, 2024</li>
</ul>

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

A podcast combo with KUOW's Seattle Eats to explain the data behind tipping, plus a side of advice.