The exact origins of tipping are unknown. Some scholars argue that it was established as far back as the Roman era, others suggest it first emerged in the days of feudal lords, when masters would fling a few coins at the servants out of gratitude or fleeting compassion. Others still locate the origins in the time of the Tudors, when tip-like customs first became firmly established in England.

In the 16th century, overnight houseguests at English country homes were expected to pay parcels of coins – known as “vails” – to the host’s servants. The custom eventually grew out of control, with expected tip sums escalating to such an extent that some masters were known to hold weekend social gatherings simply as a means of supplementing their income. By the 17th century, servant class gratuities had somehow made the leap to coffee houses and pubs, where brass urns with the words “To Insure Promptitude” were installed on the counters. Gentry would drop a few coins in the jug upon entering the house to ensure speedy service throughout their stay. Eventually the urns labels’ were abbreviated to “T.I.P.” The newly coined custom of “tipping” spread quickly throughout Europe, but was slow to flourish in the New World. Throughout the 1700s, European travelers wrote home with astonishment about how they weren’t obliged to tip in America.

Yet, by the late 19th century, tipping had taken a hold in America. In 1895, the average tip was 5 per cent of the bill in European restaurants and 10 per cent in the United States. Realising their staff were earning high wages from tips, owners of expensive upscale restaurants in the US and France soon began charging their waiters for the privilege to work. This practice led French wait staff to fight to abolish the tipping custom in France, with much of Europe soon following suit.

Because of employer abuses and the perception that tipping was an aristocratic “un-American” custom, shortly after the turn of the century, The Anti-Tipping Society of America formed and successfully lobbied eight states to outlaw tipping. Finding the laws impossible to enforce, by 1926 all of the anti-tipping laws had been repealed.

Patrick Brzeski