Tipping has been around for centuries and is used for multiple reasons which all seem to center around service. In the middle ages, people of wealth would tip their servants for doing good deeds or for hardships that they had faced or overcome. There are many theories on how today’s form of tipping began but they all seem to be centered on the basic idea revolving around drinking. It was in England around the sixteenth century that the tipping of today originated. Tavern owners would place out urns or boxes labeled T.I.P. (to insure promptness) which people would place money in to help assure prompt service.

Today the tip is given after the service has been rendered. It can be given after a meal, after you get your drink at the bar, or after the valet brings you your car. A rule of thumb for tipping a waiter after a meal is 15% and the service is usually not taken into account. I believe that tips should only be given to those who exceed the norm of service rendered. If it is your job to serve tables, then the base pay should be all that you are entitled to. Free handouts to people for doing their job should not be a norm of society. The waiter who gives exceptional service and goes beyond their duties should receive a tip for their outstanding efforts.

When at an establishment, which is service based and I perceive the service rendered to be above normal, I will tip well. I must admit that I do submit to the social norm and tip 15% to waiters who do their job to satisfaction. I know this is hypocritical when compared to my previous statements that waiters should only be tipped for outstanding service, but it is the waiter who gives me a dirty look when I leave them nothing due to poor service who needs to understand the history and purpose of tipping. An establishment with poor service will be left without a tip and I will probably not return unless manipulated into going back. Being in a line of work, which the primary means of income is based on tipping, does not obligate people to tipping the custom norm to that person. If the individual feels this way then they should look for other employment opportunities because they are unable to perform their duties appropriately.