The give and take of tipping

American Demographics, Feb, 1997 by Tibbett L. Speer

Most of us think about tips only when were scrambling for change in a taxi or trying to split a restaurant tab. Yet Mike Lynn of Cornell estimates that it is a $16 billion-a-year institution in the U.S. Babysitters, car-wash attendants, golf caddies, cruise personnel, tour guides, and casino workers benefit from the unwritten law that a little extra cash works wonders. So do newspaper couriers, pizza "guys," grocery-store baggers, shoe shiners, and full-service gas-station attendants.

Economists compare tips with handshakes and other societal customs that keep things running smoothly. Since many people express satisfaction with the various services they use, this can be interpreted as confirmation that the tipping transaction works well. Customers give money and motivate servers to perform as desired.

Or is it the other way around? After all, food servers who simply write "thank you" on bills have been known to increase their tips by 2 percentage points. "If you can make positive impressions, you can get people to do what you want them to do," says Bruce Rind.

Maybe its even simpler than that. Ask, and you shall receive. The word "tip" apparently originates from 18th-century England, where coffeehouse patrons were encouraged to put coins in a box labeled "To Insure Promptness," according to Irene Frankel, author of Tips on Tipping. This means that those "begging" cans next to cash registers at espresso bars are not an upstart notion on the part of the young people serving lattes; they are following a centuries-old tradition to ensure that you get your coffee hot.

COUGHING UP

THE DOUGH

(percent distribution of adults who tip selected service providers by

amount they

normally tip, 1996)

as percent of bill

$3 or less more

$1 or $2 more than 15% 15% than 15% Waitstaff.................... 12.1% 7.9% 8.3% 46.2% 23.9 Hairstylists/barbers......... 41.9 22.0 7.7 17.8 8.5 Bartenders................... 43.4 9.2 8.5 22.8 10.4 Taxi/limo drivers............ 32.4 18.6 16.2 22.6 5.3 Luggage handlers............. 54.9 24.7 4.9 5.6 2.2 Maids........................ 41.4 26.7 8.4 10.9 3.4 Parking valets............... 65.7 16.0 3.5 7.3 2.2

Source: Market Facts, Inc. Arlington Heights, IL.

JUST DESSERTS

OR NEED?

(percent distribution of adults who use selected services by best

explanation for why they

do or don't tip service providers, 1996)

based on they depend feel that to get

quality on the it's good service

of service money expected next time Waitstaff............. 54.5% 29.6% 9.9% 3.0% Hairstylists/barbers . 50.9 18.6 9.1 8.0 Bartenders............ 44.3 25.2 10.5 7.9 Taxi/limo drivers..... 39.0 23.8 22.3 3.4 Luggage handlers...... 37.3 27.6 20.1 4.9 Maids................. 38.3 22.1 7.9 4.51 Parking valets........ 32.0 29.7 20.2 6.5