NPR coined it “tipping rage.” Ever since the beginning of the pandemic (and, perhaps, even prior) tipping has been a controversial subject. It’s optional but really not; “standard” was 15 percent, now it’s 18 or 20. New York Magazine has brazenly declared earlier this year that “15 to 20 percent doesn’t cut it anymore.” At the height of the pandemic, one writer exhorted readers to tip a minimum of 50 percent (and, he argued, if you could afford it, to tip 100 percent). Media outlets have reported that customers are being asked to tip on bottled water. So it’s not a surprise that per a survey by Bankrate, 66 percent of Americans have a negative view on tipping. In a time where inflation is high, the economy is uncertain and paychecks aren’t stretching the way they used to, what’s a person to do? Here, etiquette expert Myka Meier discusses how to best approach the (at times, mightily awkward) situation.