The business of tipping: Experts, unions, and tip workers weigh in on gratuity

& WHEN YOU TIP, you’re not simply providing workers with a treat for doing a good job — you’re paying for their ability to survive. (Credit: Sam Dan Truong/Unsplash) by Helen Bezuneh (The Afro)—It’s a situation we’re all familiar with. You’re at a business where you didn’t receive service that’s up to your standards. When the bill arrives, you calculate a low tip, seeing as the service, in your opinion, was quite poor. You do this, perhaps, because you have been taught that tipping is optional and should correlate with how good the service was. But national etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, this idea completely misinterprets the purpose of tipping. “[A popular misconception is]that if you don’t want to tip, you don’t have to tip,” said Gottsman, founder of The Protocol School of Texas. “Gratuity—tipping, in this case —is part of the service. Those who are working for gratuity are oftentimes taking less hourly wage, and tipping is how they offset the costs, that’s part of their livelihood. So we should consider tipping, and tipping generously when appropriate.” Since the minimum wage for tipped workers is so low, those workers rely on tips to make a living. So, when you tip,...