Would you tip on a concert T-shirt? Readers respond to our tipping guide.

Patti Zitkus is unabashedly pro-tipping. She said she does so generously for all kinds of workers, from gas station attendants to plumbers to mechanics.

But the 57-year-old woman was taken aback in July when she was prompted to tip at the merchandise stand at a concert in Philadelphia.

“It did shock me a bit,” she said. “I felt it was weird, but I did it. Because they’re standing out there. It’s hot as hell, and some people want you to hold up every shirt.”

At the counter, the iPad screen in front of her provided three options — she can’t remember what the percentages were — and she selected the middle one, thinking it was appropriate since she only had the worker hold up one shirt.

The Culture Club concert was her first since she saw the Eagles in 2018, a show at which she can’t recall being asked to tip once, she said. But over the past five years, tipping prompts have proliferated nationwide, with customers being asked if they want to tip at bridal shops, plant stores, and even online retailers.

“I do find you’re seeing the tip jars everywhere,” Zitkus said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Wow, everybody wants a tip.’ ”

As a former hotel housekeeper and the daughter of a beautician, however, she knows what it’s like to rely on tips. Now a project manager, Zitkus said she will continue to tip as long as she is able. If she didn’t have the means, she said, she probably wouldn’t go out or utilize a service in the first place.

Zitkus was one of dozens of readers who responded via email and social media to The Inquirer’s tipping guide, which included the insights of a dozen service industry insiders, including baristas, bartenders, hairdressers, and rideshare and food-delivery drivers.

The guide came as two-thirds of U.S. consumers say they have a negative view of tipping, for many reasons including annoyance at pre-entered tip screens. Several Philadelphia-area service workers told The Inquirer that customers shouldn’t worry so much about tipping a certain percentage. Instead, the workers said, customers should consider the effort that went into providing the service.

Some readers told us they felt overwhelmed and even frustrated by what they see as pressure to tip, particularly at counter-service establishments where they didn’t think gratuity was expected.

“I think I’m reaching the breaking point,” one reader emailed, adding that they recently walked out of a counter-service restaurant in the city when they saw a 20% tip would be automatically included in the bill.

“During the pandemic, when we would go out to dinner, I’d tip nicely, because I knew these people weren’t seeing a lot of customers,” said Richard Cohen, 70, of Northeast Philadelphia. “Now it’s ridiculous. … There is a tip jar everywhere you go.”

He said he still tips 20% at sit-down restaurants, in cash if he can, unless the service is bad. He doesn’t appreciate the prompts at take-out or counter-service businesses, where he doesn’t think tipping is necessary and which he mostly avoids.

Yet some also came down on Zitkus’s side, saying they had no problem adding a couple dollars, at most, to a bill, especially if workers are helpful.

“If it is any place that is providing me a service, I try to tip,” said Justin Uscenski, 34, of the Gayborhood. “Some of that I guess is caving in to pressure.”

Uscenski, who works in retail management, said it’s a topic discussed often among their friends, with each person’s financial situation impacting their opinion on what is appropriate.

Uscenski was last prompted to tip earlier this month when grabbing an acai bowl to-go. They gave $1, which they felt good about since the worker behind the counter was friendly.

There’s seldom a time when Uscenski doesn’t tip — except “if I’m at a sporting event and I’m paying $19 for a beer and someone is just opening it and handing it to me.”

But “most of the time,” they said, “I don’t think a dollar will break the bank.”