A Little Tip

From a survey I conducted about tipping restaurants in Exeter, I discovered something disappointing: the majority of students tip only 10-15 percent. The legal minimum wage in New Hampshire is $7.25 per hour, whereas the wage for tipped workers is $3.27 per hour. Therefore, tipped workers have to make up for their lost $4/hour through tips alone. This is an ordeal since most people decide to tip lower than 15 percent, and most students do not spend that much on outside food anyway. What surprises me is that the students who tip most poorly feel that Exonians “generally tip very well.” Clearly, we do not, as reflected last year by Dean Cosgrove’s email that pointed to our bad manners regarding tipping at local restaurants. Unfortunately, since his last email, our tipping habits have not improved much. It’s time to re-educate Exonians.There is an interesting pattern between the students who have (or had) tipping jobs. Clearly, students with tipped job experience tip on the higher side. The majority of these students tip 15-20 percent, and several responded that they even tip 20-25 percent if they feel that the service was good. The students who tip on the higher side voiced that Exonians “tip very poorly.”Exonians who are even familiar with someone who has had a tipping job generally tip higher as well, giving 15 percent or above most of the time. On the other hand, students who have never had a tipping job or have not known a person with one generally tip 10-15 percent. Not only is the majority satisfied with the tip they provide, more than half of those I surveyed voiced that they tipped low despite the good service they got. This is troubling to hear, considering how much the workers rely on their tips to pay fill the gap of the minimum wage.The students who are fully aware of the local workers’ tip-dependent economy seem to be more day students than boarders. Upper and day student Aidan Wolff-King, “I think you really can’t tip enough for people who depend on it as a source of income, especially if they earn less than minimum wage per hour because they get tips.” Boarders in general don’t consider the local economic situations and are more concerned in justifying their tips through the quality of the service. But even if boarders do rationalize their tips through the service they received, there is a starkly disproportionate ratio between their tips and their view of the service quality. As stated above, many boarding students tip lower despite good service.The division is even more stark between international students and American students. Out of the 10 international students I spoke to, none of them stated that they tip above 15 percent, and some of them tended to tip 10 percent regardless of service. Interestingly, they all believed that Exeter has a good tipping culture. On the other hand, a greater number of American students tend to tip from 15-20 percent. I do not mean to point fingers at international students as I understand why they might be tipping frugally by our standards without realizing it. America is one of the few countries with a tipping culture, and most international students come from countries where this culture does not exist. Adjusting to this new culture for the international students is a transition that may require some form of education.As an international student myself, I have a unique memory of learning how to tip for the first time in prep year. With no knowledge of how much is appropriate to tip, my peers taught me that a 10-15 percent tip is enough. Coming from a country without tipped services, I naturally never had a tipping job before, so I had little way of knowing how much was enough to tip.There is also an understanding that high school students are not asked to pay as high a tip, as we generally have limited money compared to working adults. But Exeter students seem to understand that meals in general, especially delivery meals, are not expensive. If we have the money to buy the meal, I believe we should be prepared to pay the reasonable 20 percent tip to the delivery man/server as well. Senior Mei-An Nolan said, “I think there is a good number of Exonians who tip too low because they just don’t realize that people in food services just don’t make enough money, and sometimes delivery drivers don’t even get reimbursed for gas.” Some students even stated they feel a moral obligation to tip higher than 20 percent when they deliver to compensate for other students around them who tip very badly.Students must not feel “the moral obligation” to tip higher to make up for others’ unreasonably low tipping. This can also be prevented if Exeter fosters a culture where students tip well.Although I have my own opinions on tipping culture and I question its persistence, I still think that as long as this particular tipping culture remains, customers have to adjust to fill the loopholes and gaps of the law. The ambiguity and the vacillating of tips is one of the loopholes. And as inhabitants—temporary or permanent—of Exeter, we should be more generous and aware of the situation, since the restaurants’ economies also depend on students’ tips. Exeter’s restaurant workers rely heavily on our tips to fill the gap from tipped minimum wage to standard minimum wage. Moreover, living on minimum wage is already a struggle in itself. Our tips are clearly and unfortunately low enough to be lamented by multiple students and low enough to have received a concerned email by Dean Cosgrove.Here’s a little tip—tip higher than 20 percent no matter the quality of the service. Tipping lower does nothing to improve service. If you had a problem with their service, you should tell the manager verbally and directly. A low tip does nothing to deliver the message; it only delivers rudeness and ignorance. It also contributes to socioeconomic problems and the perception that Exeter students are only spoiled and not so non sibi to give back.