I've always thought that the idea of a gratuity as a requirement is just a scapegoat for employers not wanting to pay their employees for the effort they put in.
I've never understood why I have to tip a waiter, a pizza delivery guy, or a grocery bagger, but not the guy that changes my oil.
When I lived in Mexico, grocery stores had bag boys and they were all under 12 years old. Those kids weren't employed by the store, they were allowed to work there for tips only. That's the only pay they received. I always tipped those boys well, but it shows how the gratuity can be abused.
It is a perfectly fine system but apparently in America, you have to leave a 20% tip under all circumstances. If the service is bad, who cares, leave the 20% or you are an asshole and we will post your information online.
> God help you if you are caught not leaving a tip.
True. In the old days, when a tip was a gratuity (the original meaning of the word), it was by definition optional. So it could be used to reward good service or punish bad. Some people objected that tipping was undemocratic -- it allowed wealthy people to get better service in an establishment with fixed menu prices.
Now that tipping is mandatory, the original meaning "gratuity" is lost, because it's not gratuitous (optional or unearned). Now the objection is that it's neither optional nor a signaling mechanism, but a way to raise prices across the board without actually saying to.
Both views are right -- when it was optional, it was undemocratic, and now that it's mandatory, it's an underhanded way to raise prices for everyone.
I thought the point was that if you received poor service you left only 10%, and for dire service you leave 0%, but better be prepared to back that up verbally.
That may be the case, but refusing to tip is only going to hurt the people who are not making that call. Not the employer, but the underpaid employees. When you fail to tip a waitress, you are not making a social statement that is heard by anybody.
I don't think anyone's claiming the opposite. I have a sister-in-law that was a waitress for many years, so I've heard lots of stories. It's a crock for them because they RELY on the tips as their wage. Since it's really their wage, why not just pay them the wage in the first place? Alas, I don't think it will change unless it's legislated.
