Poughkeepsie, New York — A controversial question that customers at almost every cash register face today is whether they want to leave a tip.
Many Americans believe tipping has gotten out of hand: Is it a discretionary kindness or an unrelenting obligation?
A November 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of people think tip is expected in more places than five years ago. Some businesses that may not have been known in the past for charging tips, like dry cleaners and hardware stores, now are.
Tipping is not limited to percentages displayed on a screen.
Dr. Paul Wright, senior vice president of the Neuroscience Institute at Nuvance Health in Poughkeepsie, New York, says that with the switch, the brain releases feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and oxytocin.
“Tipping is very similar to doing a good deed,” Wright explained. “…Many people do it for themselves, not just for the recipient.”
But many Americans don’t feel the effect of dopamine.
In a recent June 2023 survey by Bankrate, two-thirds of Americans now have a negative view of tipping, and one-third say it’s “out of control.”
There is also this pressure of what we call “guilt tipping”.
“Do I feel more obligated to tip when someone looks at me with their big doe eyes?” a woman at a Poughkeepsie coffee shop told CBS News. “Probably.”
Others suggest correcting wage inequalities.
“People should get a decent salary,” said another cafe customer. “People shouldn’t depend on the tipping system.”
Poughkeepsie restaurateur Russell Beck tried this.
“I think you should pay your employees what they’re worth,” Beck said.
His “no tip, please” wine bar, 1915 Wine Cellar, began paying its workers up to $30 an hour. But in wine, there is a harsh truth.
“Our accountant came back and said, ‘Look, you either close or you change your compensation model. There’s really no in-between,'” Beck said.
Beck thinks he was naive in thinking it could work. Now, thanks to tips, the bar and its employees made more money.
Beck personally tips big. But he sets the limit.
“It’s gone crazy,” Beck said. “I ordered something online and was asked if I wanted to tip the people who were going to pack the box. And I was like, excuse me?”
Marc Strassmann
