Do you tip whenever you eat out or obtain nice service? Are you the sort to go away a beneficiant gratuity or simply stick with the usual share? Tipping has been a sizzling subject for hundreds of years, sparking debates, cultural clashes, and even lawsuits. Listed here are six attention-grabbing tales and information about tipping practices from all over the world.
1. Jailed Over a Necessary Tip
Again in 2009, two school college students, John Wagner and Leslie Pope, made headlines once they have been jailed for refusing to pay a $16.35 necessary service cost at a Pennsylvania restaurant. Their group of buddies had waited over an hour for his or her meals and even fetched their very own drinks and silverware as a consequence of poor service. The pair argued the tip was undeserved and paid solely $73.87 of their $90.22 invoice. They have been charged with theft, however the case garnered nationwide consideration and sparked debates over whether or not tipping needs to be tied to service high quality. The costs have been ultimately dropped, however the controversy left diners throughout the nation questioning necessary gratuities.
2. Switzerland’s No-Tipping Coverage
In Switzerland, tipping grew to become a factor of the previous in 1974. A tax dispute over gratuities led to the practice being abolished altogether. Right now, service prices are constructed into menu costs, and better wages guarantee truthful compensation for employees. Curiously, an identical proposal was floated in Massachusetts to lift servers’ wages to match the state minimal. The poll initiative failed, with 64% voting in opposition to it—and lots of the opponents have been servers themselves, who argued that tipping typically introduced them extra revenue than the next hourly wage would.
3. Kerry Packer’s Unbelievable Ideas
Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer was identified for his outrageous generosity. On one event, he unintentionally bumped right into a cocktail waitress, spilling her tray of drinks. To apologize, he paid off her $130,000 mortgage. In one other occasion, he tipped $150,000 to clear one other waitress’s mortgage as a thank-you for distinctive service. These jaw-dropping acts of generosity stay legendary in tipping lore and present how gratuities can typically change lives.
4. The Failed Try and Introduce Tipping to Japan
In 2021, a U.S.-based initiative referred to as The Tip Project aimed to carry American tipping tradition to Japan. The thought was met with fierce resistance, as tipping is taken into account “un-Japanese” and pointless because of the nation’s emphasis on wonderful service being a normal, not an additional. Locals argued that tipping undermined their cultural values of respect and equality. By early 2023, the challenge was deserted, cementing Japan’s standing as one of many few international locations the place tipping stays unusual and infrequently unwelcome.
5. Tipping Was As soon as Unlawful in America
Consider it or not, tipping was so unpopular in early Twentieth-century America that six states made it illegal in 1915. After the Civil Struggle, tipping was considered as an elitist European import that clashed with American beliefs of equality. Critics referred to as it “a most cancers within the breast of democracy” and “offensively un-American.” Regardless of these sentiments, tipping continued and ultimately grew to become a normal follow, although debates over its equity and necessity proceed to today.
6. The Waitress Who Received Large—however Paid the Worth
Tonda Dickerson, a waitress in Alabama, received a tip that modified her life—a lottery ticket that hit the jackpot for $10 million. What adopted was a whirlwind of authorized battles. Her co-workers sued, claiming they deserved a share. The person who tipped her demanded a truck, claiming it was a part of their deal. To prime it off, the IRS pursued her for reward taxes on the ticket. Whereas the jackpot appeared like a dream come true, it got here with a healthy dose of drama and challenges, proving that not all suggestions result in completely happy endings.
Tipping is extra than simply leaving just a few further {dollars}—it’s a cultural, financial, and typically controversial follow that varies broadly all over the world. What are your ideas on tipping?
