Coffee Break: Should I tip or should I go
A while back I harped about people who don’t tip their barista’s when going after their morning joe. In the Wall Street Journal on Friday there was an interesting column by Eric Felten investigating the history and implications of “the tip.” It appears that the tips we so generously dish-out were once quite debated.
When tipping first caught on in the U.S., late in the 19th century, it was the old-world, aristocratic overtones of the practice that drew the most ire. An 1897 editorial in the New York Times declared tipping to be the “vilest of imported vices.” The paper lamented not only that “we have men among us servile enough to accept their earnings in this form” but that others were willing “to reward the servility.” Joining the chorus against “flunkyism,” the Washington Post denounced tipping as “one of the most insidious and one of the most malignant evils” of modern life. Tipping was seen to foster a lord-and-vassal relationship that the prouder professions resisted. Well into the 1910s many bartenders refused gratuities as an insult to their status.
I thought this was an interesting article about tipping etiquette. So, next time your at that business dinner and that awkward silence at the end of the meal comes up, you now have an interesting story to tell. Happy weekend people!
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March 1st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Seems to me I recall hearing at some point in my clouded past that when traveling in the UK it’s bad form to tip at a pub and that instead, you should have the bartender add one for themselves on your tab.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Karl, I dream of the days when i don’t need to worry about tipping everyone I meet in a day like in the UK! Thanks for the comment!
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 am
Bah, none of my friends ever tip the bartender in London unless you’re at your local pub. And even then, no one really does. Dinner is the time to round up a pound or two.
Interestingly enough.. if you’re a little loaded you can goad the bartender into giving you doubles if you obnoxiously yell out how much of a good tipper you are… (may not work in all places)
March 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Having just returned from a brief trip to Europe, I was very appreciative of the convenience of not worrying about tipping. I wish the U.S. would get on the European bandwagon and do away with tipping. Add that 20% back into the price of food/drinks and be done with it.