For waste disposal areas, see Landfill.

A tip (also known as gratuity) is a small amount of money received by some service sector professionals from persons they serve, in addition to or instead of a formally required payment. These transactions are governed by social custom.

There are no standing rules or obligations concerning whether to tip (tip is both a noun and a verb), who to tip or how much. It varies from being considered rude to offer a tip (the other may find it degrading, as if (s)he is a beggar) to being considered very stingy not to give a tip. Also it may be worse to give a very small tip than to give nothing.

Some establishments forbid their employees to accept tips. Others pool tips and divide them to include employees who don't have customer contact. In some jurisdictions, tipped workers work for a lower minimum wage from the employer, who must make up any deficiency in tips.

Bribery may be disguised as tipping (leading to social customs such as police officers never accepting tips to combat this pattern).

Tipping by region

In the United States and Canada, these people are likely to expect to be tipped:

• waiters
• bartenders
• taxicab drivers
• shoe shiners
• hotel porters
• valet parking attendants
• hairdressers
• hotel maids
• barbers
• pizza deliverymen
• curbside luggage handlers at airports
• ski instructors (sometimes, especially when giving a private lesson)

As a rule, owners are never tipped.

Gratuity is generally 15–20%. Many restaurants will automatically add a gratuity of around 18% to the bill for large parties (often defined as 6 or more people)—this is alleged to be because large groups tend to underestimate the amount required for a proportionate tip. If this is done the amount should be clearly indicated on the check as a “gratuity”. In this case no additional tip need be added to the total, and in fact it is not obligatory to pay the suggested “gratuity”.

In Sweden, a tip of the lowest denomination may be given as a sign of approval to a waiter who has given exceptionally good service, but never anything else. In Finland tipping is also practically unheard of except when a customer wants to show appreciation for exceptionally good service.

In Australia, tipping is not common and almost all service providers will never expect a tip. Employers (usually!) pay a sufficient wage and do not expect employees to supplement their income with tips. However, as in Sweden, in some establishments in larger cities such as Sydney or Melbourne it is possible to give a tip for good to exceptional service. It is entirely optional and a personal choice.

Etymology

In coffeehouses located throughout England there were small boxes on the walls labeled "TIPS," which is an acronym for "To Insure Prompt Service". Money would be placed inside the box each time the waiter perform a task, and hence the more tips given, the better service one would receive.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that it is derived from the English thieves' slang word tip, meaning “to pass from one to another”. The notion of a stock tip or racing tip is from the same slang.

Another possible source for this term is a concept from Judaism that it is a chiyuv (obligation) for a seller to "tip the scales" in favor of the customer. The Torah says, "Nosen lo girumov (Give to him a tip)." For example, if your customer has asked for three pounds of onions, you should measure out the three pounds plus one extra onion, tipping the scale in his favor[1].

External links

• The Straight Dope: What is the origin of tipping?
• Straight Dope Staff Report: Should a restaurant tip be based on the check before or after tax?