Junk fees are gone. Now how should we tip?

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As of Jan. 1, the Minnesota Legislature banned “junk fees” at restaurants. Good riddance. While the Twin Cities is home to an amazing restaurant scene, few things soured a great meal faster than debating the “health and wellness” fee when the check came. “Is this fee really ‘not a gratuity,’ or is that just a tax dodge?” “Are we expected to pay more on top?” “Where does the money even go?”

Tipping, however, is still broken. From ever-rising tipping prompts on coffee-shop iPads, to the awkward mismatched expectations between servers and diners, something has to give. As much as we may pine for a high-service tip-free culture like Japan, a Minneapolis without tipping would be as foreign as, well, Tokyo. If tipping is here to stay, here is my proposal to make it better.

To replace those confusing 5% to 22% health and wellness fees that sometimes even expected a tip on top, let’s simplify: Every bill at a full-service restaurant should have a checkbox for a default 20% pre-tax tip, with the amount and total already calculated. No guesswork, no math — just check, sign and go.

Why 20%? The average tip today is 19.3%, so aligning to 20% is typical, fair and reflective of the quality of service we’ve come to expect. It is also easy to calculate when considering menu prices: just move the decimal point over and double it.

Setting a default sets clear expectations for tourists who are unfamiliar with American tipping norms; reduces implicit bias against patrons assumed to tip less, and acknowledges the reality that the vast majority of the time, your dining experience is “good, as expected,” and warrants a standard tip.

Let’s call it the “80-20 rule”: 80% of the time you should tip 20%.

For that 20% when the service is exceptional — either good or bad — there should be a line where you can skip the check box and leave a custom amount. If you’ve ever had a server handle your toddler’s tantrums and far-flung Cheerios with patience and grace, you’ve seen service that deserves an extra tip. On the flip side, if the service is poor, diners can lower the tip, but because of the extra effort required to skip the check box this will only happen in rare and appropriate cases.

As annoying as many of us found them, “health and wellness fees” were a legal workaround for a noble purpose: providing living wages and pay equity to the untipped back-of-house employees. Tips can’t fix this. Because Minnesota law bans employers from directing employees to pool tips, servers — who are already guaranteed full minimum wage — keep 100% of the tips and aren’t required to share one cent with any other team member: not the cooks plating their meals, the bartender mixing their drinks, or the bus staff cleaning their tables.

Restaurant industry insiders say this creates a stark pay gap. While servers can make $60-plus per hour with tips, the kitchen staff without tips squeak by on near minimum-wage. With restaurants operating on razor-thin margins, and even top spots closing on short notice, there simply isn’t the money left over to fix the imbalance. No pay, no staff. No staff, no restaurant.

The Minnesota Legislature should allow full-service restaurants that adopt the 80-20 program the ability to also pool their tips — so long they guarantee 100% goes to wages and not overhead. That way all workers can share in the success of their team effort.

What started as goodwill from customers trying to support struggling workers during COVID has spiraled out of control, fueled by now-ubiquitous digital payment systems that automatically push tipping prompts. When tipping options are 20%, 25% or 30% for a to-go coffee, choosing even the “lowest” exorbitant option feels stingy — especially if the barista is watching.

Tips are for service. Period. It’s time to protect consumers and ban exploitative prompts that guilt customers into tipping when it’s inappropriate. Tipping prompts for snacks at movie theaters and equipment rentals? Banned. Take-out food orders? Save the tip for when you dine in. Those self-service kiosks at airports that make you scan your own items and then have the gall to ask for a tip? Who is that money going to? The robot? Enough is enough.

Furthermore, Minnesota should set a firm limit on the amount of tipping prompts, capping automated suggestions at no more than 20% of the pre-tax amount, nipping further tipflation in the bud.

Since just a handful of payment companies — Clover, Toast and Square — power the payment systems of most small businesses, the quickest path to compliance is holding them, not the thousands of restaurants, accountable for fines and regulations. These terminals already skim 1–3% of credit card revenue, giving them every incentive to follow the law. Once reprogrammed for Minnesota, restaurants nationwide could adopt the settings voluntarily. And if other states follow Minnesota’s lead, we could make these protections the national standard.

Tipping shouldn’t be the only way diners can leave feedback, especially when not every bad meal is the server’s fault. In my experience, servers are actually quite good about asking for feedback. “How are the first few bites tasting?” But confrontation isn’t exactly the Minnesota way. Even if the food was inedible, I’d never think to send it back. And if the server asked, I would probably swear up and down that it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.

Instead, let’s create a space for private, honest feedback without penalizing the tip. I propose adding optional space below the tip box using the simple and universal scale of 1-5 stars.

Of course, diners are already free to post public reviews on Google and elsewhere. But this private rating would give the server and restaurant a chance to address issues directly without harming their public reputation, perhaps even while the patron is still in the restaurant.

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The best part? This plan works within the system we already have — no need for laminated menu inserts explaining new rules. Restaurant owners can have real conversations with their staff about pay equity and how to best allocate tips to retain good talent. And since the changes happen at the payment-terminal level, if the program proves a success, Minnesota can set the standard for the rest of the country.

If we can ban junk fees, surely we can fix tipping — one checkbox, one touch screen, one untipped robot at a time.

Nathan Bruschi is president of Anchorwork Inc., a private equity firm based in Bloomington. He lives in Edina.