> God help you if you are caught not leaving a tip.
True. In the old days, when a tip was a gratuity (the original meaning of the word), it was by definition optional. So it could be used to reward good service or punish bad. Some people objected that tipping was undemocratic -- it allowed wealthy people to get better service in an establishment with fixed menu prices.
Now that tipping is mandatory, the original meaning "gratuity" is lost, because it's not gratuitous (optional or unearned). Now the objection is that it's neither optional nor a signaling mechanism, but a way to raise prices across the board without actually saying to.
Both views are right -- when it was optional, it was undemocratic, and now that it's mandatory, it's an underhanded way to raise prices for everyone.
True. In the old days, when a tip was a gratuity (the original meaning of the word), it was by definition optional. So it could be used to reward good service or punish bad. Some people objected that tipping was undemocratic -- it allowed wealthy people to get better service in an establishment with fixed menu prices.
Now that tipping is mandatory, the original meaning "gratuity" is lost, because it's not gratuitous (optional or unearned). Now the objection is that it's neither optional nor a signaling mechanism, but a way to raise prices across the board without actually saying to.
Both views are right -- when it was optional, it was undemocratic, and now that it's mandatory, it's an underhanded way to raise prices for everyone.