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 for servers, meaning that they had much less tax to pay as well. However today tips are meant to be declared and then taxed appropriately by the servers. This has meant that tips are now not as valuable as they once were, and that many people have had to leave the service industry due to lower earnings.
In recent times many businesses have started to alter the way that tips are given to their staff. The common practise these days is fast becoming that all the tips that staff receive are put into a pool, and then divided between them at the end of the night or sometimes week. From the perspective of the business this is usually a good move, because all staff receive a fair share, as well as the fact that it makes it easier for them to record the tips being received for taxation purposes.
Many staff however do not like this new method of tip remuneration, and would prefer to go back to a time when individuals kept their own tips. From their perspective the fact that they might be a better server than someone else now doesn't come into play. Essentially through this system a terrible server and an excellent one would be paid the same amount. And so of course there is no incentive for the bad ones to improve.
However from the other perspective servers aren't always all given the same opportunity to actually earn tips for themselves. For example one server might be able to serve customers all night whereas another might have to perform other duties, which means that they miss the opportunity to earn tips of their own. Given that wages are usually very low in these kinds of jobs, this can often mean that a member of staff who often has to forgo interaction with customers might struggle to make much money at all.