Bailey Grasso

Professor Moore

English 1301-01

26 March 2019

Should tipping be a requirement?

Millions of workers derive a majority of their income from tips. Tipping is a vital part of

the economy’s activity: annual tipping in the US food industry alone is estimated at $42 billion

(Azar). It gives “incentives to provide excellent service” according to Azar in one of his

discussions. But, tipping these workers for their service has become a prominent debate upon

those who frequently eat out. The debate has two main aspects: those who believe tipping is a

moral duty, and those who do not believe in tipping. if the customer decides they will not tip, it is

common curtesy to let the waiter know beforehand that they will not receive gratuity from that

table. Gratuity has become an important discussion due to the fact that for many people, these

tips are a major source of their income.

The word ‘tips’ actually stands for “to insure prompt service”, as states Kershnar in her

article. In other words, it is a mechanism to ensure good service, expecting a tip from a table

gives the incentive for the waiter to be attentive and on their toes if the customer needs anything

(Azar). The moral duty of the customer is to tip, 20% gratuity is the average amount someone

will leave for their server. But, based upon the mindfulness of the server, they may receive only

15% or even 10% as the server may not have been as attentive as they could have been. Tipping

is a stimulation for the economy as well as an incentive for servers to work even harder.
 If one chooses not to tip their waiter for the following service provided, it is curtesy to

inform the server in advance, before proceeding with your dining experience. One of the main

focuses as to why people believe tipping is unnecessary is because some establishments add a

certain percentage tip to the bill, meaning if the customer were to willingly tip, they would be

tipping double the amount. This can be deceiving, as many people don’t review the check before

handing over their payment. Sometimes not tipping may be unintentional; let’s say a man walks

into a café but realizes he only has enough money for his meal after he has already placed his

order, as the waitress comes back he sincerely apologizes but informs her he only has enough to

pay for his meal without gratuity involved, this is now informing the server she will not receive a

tip and the server can pursue that statement how she feels may be necessary. Not providing a tip

may be based upon multiple things, a few of which may be: the customs of differing countries,

not receiving proper service throughout someone’s time at an establishment, or even simply not

having enough money to provide gratuity.

Although there are differing views on whether or not tipping is an important aspect of

eating out, most can conclude that tipping your server is a common curtesy. Having a proper

understanding of both sides may assist in coming to a solid answer. This debate may be ended by

furthering these beliefs to higher ups in the justice system to come to a proper conclusion on

what is and is not proper social etiquette for these situations.

 Works cited

Azar, Ofer H. “Do People Tip Because of Psychological or Strategic Motivations? An Empirical

Analysis of Restaurant Tipping.” Applied Economics, vol. 42, no. 23, Sept. 2010, pp.

3039–3044. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00036840801964831.

Azar, Ofer H. “Incentives and Service Quality in the Restaurant Industry: The Tipping-Service

Puzzle.” Applied Economics, vol. 41, no. 15, June 2009, pp. 1917–1927. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/00036840601131813.

Kershnar, Stephen. “A Promissory Theory of the Duty to Tip.” Business &

Society Review (00453609), vol. 119, no. 2, June 2014, pp. 247–276. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/basr.12033.