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The Great Tipping Explosion | Season 1, Episode 12

Remember when tipping was simple? You went to a restaurant, enjoyed a good meal, received good service, and left a little something extra to show your appreciation.

Well, those days seem to be disappearing!

In this episode of That Old-er Guy Show, host Jeff Blair takes a humorous look at America's growing tipping culture. From coffee shops and sandwich counters to self-service kiosks and those dreaded payment screens asking for 20%, 25%, or even 30%, it seems everybody wants a tip these days!

And what about those places where you place your own order, pick up your own food, and clean up after yourself? Shouldn't somebody be tipping YOU?

Jeff shares his thoughts on how tipping has changed over the years, why those little touchscreen requests make us feel guilty, and whether we've forgotten what tipping was supposed to be about in the first place.

This isn't about criticizing hardworking employees or being cheap. It's about common sense, good service, and remembering that a tip should be a gesture of appreciation—not an obligation.

Here's a question for you: What's the strangest place you've ever been asked to leave a tip?

Visit the That Old-er Guy Show Facebook page and share your experience!

Join Jeff for another entertaining look at the everyday things that make us shake our heads and ask, "When did all of this change?"

That Old-er Guy Show — A little nostalgia, a little humor, and a whole lot of common sense.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Remember when Saturday mornings belonged to the kids?

There was a time when getting out of bed for school was nearly impossible, but on Saturday mornings, we were wide awake before the sun came up. No alarm clocks, no parents yelling down the hallway—just the excitement of knowing our favorite cartoons were about to begin!

In this episode of That Old(er) Guy Show, host Jeff Blair takes a humorous and nostalgic trip back to the golden age of Saturday morning television.

From Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the Road Runner to Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Schoolhouse Rock, Saturday mornings were something special. We had our favorite cartoons, bowls of sugary cereal, toy commercials that made everything look incredible, and television sets that required somebody to actually get up and change the channel.

And when the cartoons ended around noon? Mom usually had two words for us: "Go outside!"

Today, kids have unlimited entertainment at their fingertips. Streaming services, smartphones, and on-demand programming mean they can watch practically anything, anytime. That's certainly convenient—but have we lost something along the way?

Jeff looks back at a time when we waited all week for our favorite shows, when millions of kids watched the same cartoons, and when Saturday morning was more than just another day of television.

It was a weekly tradition.

It was part of growing up.

And for a few wonderful hours every week, Saturday morning belonged to us.

The Old(er) Guy Question: What Saturday morning cartoon did you absolutely NEVER miss?

Join the conversation on our That Old(er) Guy Show Facebook page!

That Old(er) Guy Show — Real Talk. Real Stories. The Way I See It.

Getting older is mandatory. Acting your age is entirely optional.

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When exactly does it happen? When do you go from being one of the younger people in the room to looking around and wondering why all the doctors, police officers, teachers—and practically everyone else—suddenly look like kids?

In Episode 10 of That Old(er) Guy Show, Jeff takes a humorous look at those little moments that make you realize you've somehow become that Old(er) Guy.

From making noises when you get out of a chair and discussing grocery prices with complete strangers, to suddenly becoming fascinated with the weather, struggling with passwords, questioning today's music, and catching an unexpected glimpse of yourself on a self-checkout camera—getting older has a way of sneaking up on you.

But there's another side to becoming the Old(er) Guy. You've accumulated stories, experiences and memories from a world that has changed enormously during your lifetime. You remember how things worked before smartphones, GPS, streaming, social media and an app for practically everything.

Getting older doesn't mean everything was better back then—or that everything is better now. It simply gives you enough history to appreciate the difference...and occasionally ask:

When did THAT happen?

Join Jeff for a casual, humorous look at aging, changing times and discovering that becoming the Old(er) Guy might not be such a bad thing after all.

That Old(er) Guy Show Real Talk. Real Stories. The Way I See It.

Getting older is mandatory. Acting your age is entirely optional.

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Remember when getting lost was just part of going somewhere?

Before GPS, Google Maps, and that reassuring little voice saying “recalculating,” finding your way meant road maps, handwritten directions, highway signs—and occasionally stopping at a gas station to ask somebody who actually knew the area.

In this episode of That Old(er) Guy Show, Jeff Blair looks back at the days of folding maps that never folded back correctly, directions based on landmarks that hadn't existed for 20 years, family vacations where Dad drove and Mom navigated, and the arrival of MapQuest and eventually GPS.

Technology has made traveling easier, safer, and far more convenient. But has following turn-by-turn directions also changed the way we experience the trip?

There was a time when taking a wrong turn might lead to a little restaurant, an interesting town, a scenic road—or simply a family story that would be told for years.

Maybe getting lost wasn't always such a bad thing.

So grab your imaginary road map, ignore the person in the passenger seat saying, “I told you that was the turn,” and join us for “When Getting Lost Was Normal.”

Because sometimes the wrong road takes you someplace worth remembering.

That Old(er) Guy Show — Real Talk. Real Stories. The Way I See It.

Getting older is mandatory. Acting your age is entirely optional.

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Remember when shopping meant actually going somewhere?

In this episode of That Old(er) Guy Show, Jeff Blair looks back at a time when shopping wasn't just a transaction—it was an event.

There were department stores, shopping malls, Christmas catalogs, and local merchants who actually knew their customers. Families could spend an entire Saturday shopping, teenagers hung out at the mall, and kids studied the Sears Wish Book carefully enough to create Christmas lists that made their parents wonder whether Santa offered financing.

Today, thousands of stores fit inside our phones. We can compare prices, order almost anything from the recliner, and sometimes have it sitting on the front porch the same day.

That's incredible convenience, but did we lose something along the way?

From Sears and JCPenney to malls, local stores, online shopping, and the mysterious algorithm that thinks buying one toilet seat means you want to start collecting them, Jeff takes a humorous and nostalgic look at how shopping changed from an experience into a transaction.

Were the old days really better?

Maybe not.

But there was something different about a time when shopping meant getting in the car, going somewhere, and making a day of it.

So how did we get from the department store to same-day delivery?

When did THAT happen?

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Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Are we actually smarter because we have Google—or have we simply gotten better at finding answers?

In this episode of That Old(er) Guy Show, Jeff Blair looks at how the internet has changed the way we learn, remember, and find information.

There was a time when answering a question might mean pulling an encyclopedia off the shelf, going to the library, or actually remembering phone numbers and directions. Today, we carry access to an almost unlimited amount of information in our pockets.

That's certainly progress. But there's a difference between having information, understanding information, and actually remembering it.

From Google searches and GPS directions to smartphones that remember everything for us, Jeff asks whether technology is making us more knowledgeable—or simply allowing us to outsource more of our memory and thinking to our devices.

And there's another problem: finding information is easier than ever. Figuring out which information is actually correct may be harder than ever.

Google can give us answers.

But can it make us smarter?

Maybe the answer depends on what we do after we hit “Search.”

It’s another look at modern life from That Old(er) Guy Show—where we look back, reflect and ask:

Were things better or worse? And... When did THAT happen?

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Remember when five bucks could actually buy lunch?

Not just part of lunch. Not a drink and maybe some fries. An actual meal.

In this episode of The Old(er) Guy Show, Jeff takes a nostalgic, and occasionally painful, look at what inflation has done to the everyday purchases we once took for granted. From hamburgers and coffee to movie tickets, gasoline, groceries, and restaurant meals, the numbers on the price tags have certainly changed.

There was even a time when the $5 Footlong became a cultural phenomenon. Subway introduced the nationwide promotion in 2008, and it became one of the most successful fast-food promotions of its era. Today, five dollars doesn't stretch nearly as far. One workplace-lunch index put the average lunch price at $14.73 in 2026.

So what happened? Is it simply inflation? Higher wages and operating costs? Changing expectations? Or have we slowly become accustomed to paying prices that would have made our younger selves put the menu down and head home for a sandwich?

Jeff looks back at what everyday things used to cost, what they cost now, and why those increases seem especially noticeable when you're old enough to remember the original price.

Because apparently the $5 lunch didn't disappear.

It just became the $15 lunch.

Topics in this episode: Inflation • Food Prices • Fast Food • Restaurant Prices • Grocery Prices • Gas Prices • Coffee • Cost of Living • Nostalgia • Everyday Economics • Then and Now

The Old(er) Guy Show: looking at today's world through the eyes of someone who's been around long enough to remember when five dollars was actually money.

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

We’ve never had more ways to communicate—and somehow, we may be talking to each other less than ever.

In this episode of That Old(er) Guy Show, Jeff Blair looks at “The Lost Art of Talking to People.” Text messages replace phone calls. Restaurant orders are placed on screens. Self-checkouts replace cashiers. Automated voices handle customer service. And families and friends can sit around the same table while everyone is looking at a different phone.

Technology has made communication faster and more convenient, but has something important been lost along the way?

With humor, nostalgia and a little Old(er) Guy perspective, we look at what happens when efficiency starts replacing everyday human interaction—and why those seemingly insignificant conversations with cashiers, servers, neighbors and even strangers may matter more than we realize.

Maybe we don’t need another way to communicate.

Maybe we just need to start talking again.