Tipping Culture

[JJReyes]

I better practice my Tagalog so service personnel will think I am local.  If tagged as an American, they will expect a larger tip.

[Colsie]

On 11/8/2022 at 8:13 PM, JJReyes said:

We would like to know the current tipping culture for porters, taxi drivers, restaurants and hotel personnel. 

I'm originally from the UK, so giving away free money is a bizarre concept to me...

Is it a boastful thing, like look at me, I'll give you more money than what something costs because I'm wealthier than you 

Lived in Aus for over 10yrs and never ever heard of anyone giving a tip, let alone me giving my hard earned away... 

In the Philippines, recently I've just started asking for senior citizen discount, and blow me over it works in few places, even McDonald's... 

Flickin Kuripot and proud... 

Edited November 9, 2022 by Colsie

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Colsie said:

Is it a boastful thing, like look at me, I'll give you more money than what something costs because I'm wealthier than you

That seems, (to me), to be close to it.  I have noticed that very important Filipinos, such as governors and senators etc, give quite a bit of money in tips.  I can only surmise that big tippers are saying:  Look at me, I'll give you a substantial amount of extra money if you treat me like I as important as they are.  So not exactly boastful.  Just bribing, as another poster said.

[JJReyes]

4 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Taking the tips is illegal in the United States.  A restaurant came up with the idea of paying double the minimum wage and demanding employees surrender their tips.  Following a complaint, the Department of Labor ruled against the restaurant.  The restitution and government fines for the establishment was huge.  I don't recall the amount, but each employee received something like $37,000.

I did a search for the article.  The US Department of Labor recovered $375K for 11 Oregon restaurant workers.

 

[JJReyes]

2 hours ago, Colsie said:

I'm originally from the UK, so giving away free money is a bizarre concept to me...

While there are several possibilities, one theory is "tip" comes from a British word, "tipple."  It originates from offering someone a drink in appreciation for a service rendered.  The amount given was the price of a drink at a local pub.  In the United States, tipping has morph into something akin to blackmail. 

One interesting anecdote is contractual bartenders and wait staff won't do banquets involving lawyers unless management gives them a minimum guarantee.  This group are considered Takers rather than Givers.  The preferred group are service personnel conventions who are known to be generous when tipping.

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

While there are several possibilities, one theory is "tip" comes from a British word, "tipple."

Here is an article that says you are on the right track.  I will hide the text of the article because it is long.  The summary is: ". . . wealthy Americans traveling abroad to Europe witnessed tipping and brought the aristocratic custom back with them to “show off,”

http://www.foodwoolf.com/2010/08/history-of-tipping.html

Spoiler

Though tipping the waiter may feel like something that’s always been part of the dining experience in America, the fact is, the act of tipping is a borrowed custom from Europe.

According to Michael Lynn, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, tipping in the United States began just after the American Civil War in the late 1800’s. Lynn suggests that wealthy Americans traveling abroad to Europe witnessed tipping and brought the aristocratic custom back with them to “show off,” or prove their elevated education and class.

Tipping—which may have originated in the taverns of 17th Century England, where drinkers would slip money to the waiter “to insure promptitude” or T.I.P for short—wasn’t embraced by all Americans when the custom began to make its way into our country’s taverns and dining halls. A movement against tipping began in the late 1890’s as many Americans believed that tipping went against the country’s ideals and allowed a clear servile class that would be financially dependent on a higher class.

A servile attitude for a fee

According to an article that appeared in The New York Times in 1897, there was a movement brewing against tipping in America. The anti-tipping group believed that tipping was the “vilest of imported vices” because it created an aristocratic class in a country that fought hard to eliminate a class-driven society. In 1915 six state legislators from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and South Carolina attempted and failed to pass an anti-tipping bill that would make leaving gratuities unlawful.

In 1916, William Scott wrote a stinging diatribe against tipping in his book, “The Itching Palm,” in which he stood up against the policy of paying for a service twice (once for the employer and once for the employee). He decried tips to be “democracy’s mortal foe” and creates “a servile attitude for a fee.”

In the American democracy to be servile is incompatible with citizenship. Every tip given in the United States is a blow at our experiment in democracy. The custom announces to the world…that we do not believe practically that “all men are created equal.” Unless a waiter can be a gentleman, democracy is a failure. If any form of service is menial, democracy is a failure. Those Americans who dislike self-respect in servants are undesirable citizens; they belong in an aristocracy.

Scott continues, “If tipping is un-American, some day, some how, it will be uprooted like African slavery”.

 

While diners and servers alike haven’t stopped grumbling about the tip system, there hasn’t been a serious legislative effort to end the practice since. What do you think?

 

[JJReyes]

4 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Here is an article that says you are on the right track.  I will hide the text of the article because it is long.  The summary is: ". . . wealthy Americans traveling abroad to Europe witnessed tipping and brought the aristocratic custom back with them to “show off,”

http://www.foodwoolf.com/2010/08/history-of-tipping.html

  Reveal hidden contents

Though tipping the waiter may feel like something that’s always been part of the dining experience in America, the fact is, the act of tipping is a borrowed custom from Europe.

According to Michael Lynn, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, tipping in the United States began just after the American Civil War in the late 1800’s. Lynn suggests that wealthy Americans traveling abroad to Europe witnessed tipping and brought the aristocratic custom back with them to “show off,” or prove their elevated education and class.

Tipping—which may have originated in the taverns of 17th Century England, where drinkers would slip money to the waiter “to insure promptitude” or T.I.P for short—wasn’t embraced by all Americans when the custom began to make its way into our country’s taverns and dining halls. A movement against tipping began in the late 1890’s as many Americans believed that tipping went against the country’s ideals and allowed a clear servile class that would be financially dependent on a higher class.

A servile attitude for a fee

According to an article that appeared in The New York Times in 1897, there was a movement brewing against tipping in America. The anti-tipping group believed that tipping was the “vilest of imported vices” because it created an aristocratic class in a country that fought hard to eliminate a class-driven society. In 1915 six state legislators from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and South Carolina attempted and failed to pass an anti-tipping bill that would make leaving gratuities unlawful.

In 1916, William Scott wrote a stinging diatribe against tipping in his book, “The Itching Palm,” in which he stood up against the policy of paying for a service twice (once for the employer and once for the employee). He decried tips to be “democracy’s mortal foe” and creates “a servile attitude for a fee.”

In the American democracy to be servile is incompatible with citizenship. Every tip given in the United States is a blow at our experiment in democracy. The custom announces to the world…that we do not believe practically that “all men are created equal.” Unless a waiter can be a gentleman, democracy is a failure. If any form of service is menial, democracy is a failure. Those Americans who dislike self-respect in servants are undesirable citizens; they belong in an aristocracy.

Scott continues, “If tipping is un-American, some day, some how, it will be uprooted like African slavery”.

 

While diners and servers alike haven’t stopped grumbling about the tip system, there hasn’t been a serious legislative effort to end the practice since. What do you think?

 

Excellent article.

[Tommy T.]

On 11/8/2022 at 8:13 PM, JJReyes said:

My wife and I are leaving for the Philippines in a few days.  We would like to know the current tipping culture for porters, taxi drivers, restaurants and hotel personnel.  Our visit is for more than four months partially to test expat living.  This is in preparation for a time when either one of us is less mobile.  The plan is to then hire caregiver services.  Too expensive in the United States.  More affordable in the Philippines.

Regarding tipping.  I used a discount business class website to book Philippine Airlines.  The payment prompt strongly suggested a 10% tip for the agent.  That's insane!

I have read all the replies and conversation here. First off, I agree strongly that tipping a booking agent would not work for me. I think there are some interesting comments on this topic.

I will offer two different perspectives on this topic that I have, so far, not seen or just missed? First, my own... As a kid I took a job as a caddy at an exclusive club north of Chicago. The management had a sign outside the golf shop stating something to the effect of, "Do not tip the caddies. Instead, if you wish to tip, contribute it to the caddy master (who actually was honest) and the total for the season would be distributed to the caddies based on the number of days they worked, and had nothing to do with their (our) service. Personally, I did not think this was fair. The wages were low already, the work was tiring in the hot sun. Maybe I earned $4/day, sometimes as much as $8 if I carried double bags...ugh! But I already tried to give the best service I could anyway.

Later, I drove a Taxi from 9pm until 3am, six nights a week. I always tried to give good service and help customers who required it with packages or mobility issues. Most people did not tip thinking that the fares were already to steep - which they were - yet my pay almost always was minimum wage each work night. I appreciated the tips I did get and did remember the few repeat customers, but gave them the same service as everyone else (unless they were jerks, and there were a few!).

L, my Filipina partner, grew up rather poor and worked nights to pay for her university. She cleaned apartments and other menial work to get buy, so she knew and remembers vividly what it was like to be poor. Her wages were low and there was never any tipping. but she did not look for it either. At one stage before that, she would scrounge for clams or small crabs along beaches to try to sell to people so she could pay for her rice.

Now, she tips anyone who does her or us a service, like carrying our bags to the car from shopping, or putting air in the tires of the car or making extra effort to do good job. She does this because of her background remembering poverty and because she knows how low wages are for menial work here. Meanwhile, prices keep going up and up. We have discussed this at length and our shared feeling is to try to help hard workers with low pay a bit - not a bribe, but rather as a reward - yet to not spoil them either. She considers a P10 to be an insult in many cases. However, we don't often tip more than P20-50, depending on the task and service. Personally, I could not see paying anyone a 20% tip automatically as is becoming common in USA. If a restaurant includes a built-in service fee (which is also becoming more common here in Phils and elsewhere) I usually do not tip extra unless that fee is low and the service received is high.

Lastly, I agree with the comments that the employers should pay proper wages and just include that in the cost of the product or service provided... Just my thoughts...

[hk blues]

 

12 hours ago, JJReyes said:

While there are several possibilities, one theory is "tip" comes from a British word, "tipple."  It originates from offering someone a drink in appreciation for a service rendered.  The amount given was the price of a drink at a local pub.  In the United States, tipping has morph into something akin to blackmail. 

One interesting anecdote is contractual bartenders and wait staff won't do banquets involving lawyers unless management gives them a minimum guarantee.  This group are considered Takers rather than Givers.  The preferred group are service personnel conventions who are known to be generous when tipping.

TIP - To Ensure Promptness I believe is one of the most popular theories.

Strangely, the theory is that the TIP was paid in advance to encourage good service rather than reward it.  Kind of makes more sense then the current practice. 

[fillipino_wannabe]

Its not as extreme as the US but I'd say tipping is more of a thing here than in most of Europe.
I used to play golf and go shooting now, it's pretty much expected to tip there. Normally notice most Filipinos giving a tip when they get a haircut etc also, wouldn't be the case in the UK.