Many customs of our society often have mysterious or unusual origins. One such custom is the gratuity or “tip” that is pervasive across the world in restaurants, hotels, sporting activities, and many other places where a service is performed. There are a few different origins of the word “tip” but the actual beginnings of the custom are lost in the mists of time however it is thought to have existed in the Roman Empire. During the middle ages “to tip” simply meant to give or to hand over as in a gift which is a probable but boring origin of the term. The term has also been associated with pubs and eating establishments of 18^th century England where an urn was displayed with the words “To Insure Promptitude” (T.I.P.) inscribed to encourage the generosity of patrons.

The custom of tipping made its way to colonial America but after the revolution it was looked at as an old world holdover quickly falling out of favor and after the Civil War the custom was actually banned by six states. People tipped their social inferiors which went against the ideals of the new nation but the workers in the service industry soon changed their mind and tipping returned with the gusto we know today. Even the communist countries have not been able to entirely get rid of the practice. In today’s society tipping has become a large part of the income for servers in restaurants and bars, taxi drivers, and hotel service providers. The idea is that the services would cost more if the workers were paid a regular wage but with the customary TIP the prices are kept lower by paying less of a standard wage.

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The average tip is 15% or more depending on the location such as the New York standard of 20%. The downside comes when a tip is expected even though poor service has been provided but the establishments with bad service soon find themselves out of business. Regardless of the actual percentages involved it is important to recognize good service with an appropriate gratuity.

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