Why do we tip??

Service industry as been one of the earliest forms of employment generators and if given a thought could even date back to the early cave men who invited their clan members to gorge on a roast made by the wives. Before primary jobs like agriculture, secondary like teaching and tertiary like banking, the service industry has been so infused into our lives that in most cultures its taken for granted and it's often ignored.

From your mothers warmth to the fake smile of an air hostess and from the tuk tuk driver who rips into your wallet to the tourist guide who gives you what you can read on google, the service industry has ofen been considered as one of the lesser valued industries in society such that terms like waiter,cook,house or pool boy and receptionist let alone spa therepist and security are often not given the respect they command in many countries.

In India, for example, hotels come under the shops and establishments act rather than a stand alone entity. In some arab nations tourism is an entertainment n not an occupation. Some countries do not even issue tourist visas.

When asked at a hotel management school in Goa, many students said they enrolled in it as the last resort so that the year would not be wasted!!

Considering its neglect and stereotyped as an entertainment and a way to show off like 'mein tuje Taj goomaunga' - I will take you around the taj, this industry is one of the largest manual labour employers in the world. From cocktail waitresses in their sensual clothes to the crisp uniforms of the tourist police and from the dazzling dreams given by travel agents to the harsh realities of roadside restaurants... they are everywhere and are employed so that you can be at ease. Thats why they are called customer service.

But due to the stigma and perceptions that they earn a lot from favours granted, they are often found at the lowest payment or salary bracket and yet have the highest levels of genuine service.

This is often the reason why they directly or indirectly rely on tips.  But then why do people tip them when they don't do the same to the postman or the undertaker??

Tips or TO ENSURE PROMPT SERVICE is often given for the following reasons:

1- Gratitude for service rendered
This is a means of appreciation and is often given as a sign of good will and is mostly unexpected.

2- Borderline Bribery
This is often given before the intended service to ensure that the staff goes out of his way to serve either on par or beyond his official capacity. Here the staff is compelled as reporting to the manager that money was exchanged is emminent resulting in unsavoury consequences.

3- Pity the guy
This is often given as a sign of empathy towards a stranger who has worked hard to earn his living but on visibly seeing or hearing his or her social and financial saddened stories, the client will often leave something behind to help him or his family back home. This is on par with charity.

4- Generosity
Here due to reasons like having a good rapport to a good mood or even a result of previous but immediate good fortunes, or even the sensing of the good aura of the staff, the client will leave a big tip.

5- Social Status 
With the primary motive to show off to ones friends and relatives especially if the payer is a foreign return or got a good promotion or is just trying to impress his chick, the client will tip usually without seeing how much.

6- Tips extorted
This is a growing scary trend where people are expected to live on tips and so have the dominoes effect on the customers. Tips and service charges imposed on the client is often unwelcome but mandatory and if not obliged will often lead to loosing face.

Though there may be many more reasons as to why one may tip another, tipping is an act of mutual respect and not a breeding ground for pests in search for easy money.

Low salaries is an excuse of the management for fostering cheap labour and this often undermines the clients perception of the establishment and the industry as a whole.