I very rarely have cash on me. Larger bills break down into smaller ones as well as change, making my pants bigger, which is lame and annoying. Additionally, it's near impossible to find all cash businesses anymore. My favorite coffee shop has a POS system that takes credit cards but has no field for tipping, which is outrageous. It literally forces me to either buy a coffee and not tip the baristas (shitty) or not patronize their establishment anywhere close to what I do now (even shittier in my view). Because I'm simply not going to make ATM runs with service fees left and right before I get my morning cup. The hassle alone isn't worth it. Basically my solution is that when I'm in there with cash (maybe 10% of the time) I just drop a 20 in the jar and call it good until next time. When I do have cash, I always make an effort to store some 1's in my car for said coffee and for the guys that dry my car after the car wash (another place I pay with a card with no ability to tip the employees), but it's never long before that stash is exhausted. Also, just checked my pockets. No cash as predicted.
Isn't it? Another of my favorite coffee shops does iPad signing that simply presents three tip options in boxes: 1$, 2$, 3$, with a small "other amount" button underneath. I bet that setup drives more tips than cash even. When tipping is as easy as touching a button it's effortless. But in the absence of that screen option, screen signing will absolutely result in lower tips. No cash change places back in the hand creates too much friction.
Huh. Interesting. I always tip at least a buck when I have cash and with the button that stays the same but sometimes I hit the 2 or 3 dollar one. But I've worked in the service industry so I'm probably a lousy example of the average person even anecdotally.