The real reasons why & when we should tip - a quick look at the mindset behind tipping

Aug 16th, 2007 by David Murphy-Colonna | Scroll down for comments

This past weekend I shared meals with my family at two different restaurants. One restaurant was a higher end steak house, the other was at a chain restaurant, Houlihans. When the check arrived at the end of the both meals, we left a 20% tip without even blinking an eye. Like it was standard procedure. Normal right?

But then I started thinking about tipping in general and why we leave tips in the first place. Why did we leave 20% and not 15%? And why did we tip the same percentage at both restaurants, when the service varied between the two? Why is tipping so natural in today’s society?

These are a few of questions that popped into my head about tipping, and I just have some thoughts I would like to share with you.

Tipping has become the norm in today’s society. And although, I am not like Robert De Niro in “Goodfellas,” tipping the bartender just to keep the ice cold, I would like to think I am rather generous when it comes to tipping. I think we all think that about ourselves.

But why are we doing this? Why do we see tipping as a status symbol? And where do we draw the line?

Why we should tip?

There are two reasons why most people should tip in any situation whether it is at a restaurant, barbershop, hotel, or bar:

1: We tip because the service we received was at the least satisfactory to excellent.

2: We want to secure the same excellent treatment and service when we return to that establishment.

The problems with why we should tip.

1: I think that most people do this as well but, I still tip 20% most of the time whether the service was good or not. If it is really horrible I guess I would lower the amount of tip, but I haven’t had a bad experience that would force me to do that yet. (Some times the food is bad, but you can’t take that out on the waiter/waitress.)

2: Does tipping actually secure equal or better service the next time we visit, that same restaurant, barber, or hotel? I feel that it doesn’t with the exception of a barber. Unless you are a regular customer at an establishment or it isn’t busy too often, most hospitality workers or workers in the service industry won’t remember the type of tip you give unless it was really bad or ridiculously generous, because tipping is so natural.

You would have to form a relationship with the staff of establishment and a good track of tipping well in order to receive good service based on your tips. So what do you get out of tipping at a restaurant that you will never attend again?

3. Why do we tip the same percentage of the bill whether we are at a Diner or a 5 star restaurant. The service differs at both places. And they are both different classes of establishments. I still tip the same whether the waiter comes to my table and fills my water glass twice, or 15 times. So what is the real point of tipping? Some people say I am wrong in doing this, I don’t think so, because of the real point of tipping.

The real point of tipping

First, we need to understand that tipping is a huge industry, and workers in hospitality services depend on tips. Many, waiters, waitresses, and other workers in the food service industry are not even making minimum wage as pay. So they depend on the customer’s tips in most cases to make end’s meat.

Don’t get me wrong I am not saying this is our fault. Worker’s in the hospitality field should be making at least minimum wage or more. But, in order to compensate for them not making minimum wage the tip became standard procedure. So think about this the next time you tip. Think about it, if the waiter, waitress or other workers were getting paid minimum wage or better the meal would probably cost a few bucks more. So it evens out.

Also we have to take into account the social aspect of tipping. If we don’t tip we are seen as the bad guy or cheap. Kind of like George Costanza from Seinfeld.

In the capitalistic society of today’s world no one wants to be seen as cheap. This is a horrible reason to tip but it is just another rule of the capitalistic society, so if you have the extra cash don’t be afraid to throw it down at the end for the tip, it could help your image if you are out to lunch or on a date

Where we draw the line

So since tipping is universally accepted and expected, where do we draw the line. There are tip jars everywhere from store counters, to car washes.

I think we need to draw the line at establishments that perform a hospitality service. These places are definitely where you need to tip. It would be socially rude not too, and workers in these industries depend on these tips because they make under minimum wage.

Stores and counter tops where tip jars are just sitting waiting for people to give free handouts, are definitely not places to tip. Instead of throwing your change in their tip jar, start your own change jar at home, you’d be surprised how quick the change adds up.

Tipping excessively sometimes can ensure you that better service in the future as well, it varies in different industries. So take a look at where you are, what kind of service you received, and if tipping will benefit you anyway in the future at a certain establishment. If so, tip away.

I definitely think this is an interesting topic, and am thinking about exploring more of the social mindset and psyche behind tipping, gratuity, and “taking care” of people in the service industry to ensure excellent service.

What are your thoughts on tipping? Do you do it to be polite or do you expect better service when you come back next time? Does going above and beyond 20% ensure treatment like a king? Do you vary your tips according to the degree of service performed? Leave a comment and tell us your take on this billion dollar industry of gratuity.

Some of the information in this post can be found at How Stuff Works.com, they explore tipping even further with history and some psychology of it, check it out.

Also check out Tipping Etiquette Guide

David Murphy-Colonna posted this article under Saving Money on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 9:00 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment or trackback from your own site. View Technorati Linkbacks.