by Jonte Rhodes

Created on: October 11, 2008

The custom of tipping people such as restaurant servers, porters and taxi drivers is something that is prevalent in many different parts of the world today. Not only this but tips are relied on by many people as their primary means of income. This is because their wages are often very much lower than other jobs, to compensate for the fact that they are tipped as well. There is also an etiquette that goes along with the process of tipping. This covers things such as how much is appropriate, and when you should and shouldn't tip someone.

The jobs most synonymous with tipping are waiters and waitresses, and they are still the most reliant on tips as a major part of their income. In jobs such as taxi drivers, the wages paid are fairly good anyway, and so the tips that they receive on top are a kind of bonus. For restaurant servers however, their wages are usually very low, much lower than the minimum wage for most other professions in fact. This means that for them the tips that they receive often make up the majority of the money that they make.

The amount of money that is traditionally given as a tip varies between different jobs and different services, and can even vary according to what area of the country you are in also. Typically the amount to give for a waiter's service is around 15% of the total bill that you get for the food. Different places do have different customs however, so checking from place to place is a good idea.

Although 15% is typical, in many places in the United States simply tipping a few dollars each is generally the practise. Depending on what kind of restaurant you have just eaten in, this might be more or less than 15% of the final bill, but is still generally accepted. Tipping in fast food restaurants isn't necessary generally however, as the servers don't actually have to have much contact with you. But any other restaurant or caf usually encourage tipping as the norm

Despite the fact that tipping is the norm in the United States and in fact in many parts of the world, it isn't always the norm everywhere. For example in much of Europe tipping is usually only considered the norm in higher-class restaurants, and in the cases of taxis of cafes, tipping isn't generally expected. Because of the differences in tipping around the world, it is usually better to research what the norms are if you are travelling, so as to make sure you only tip when appropriate.

Until relatively recently tips were not taxed or declared, and as such were pure income

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