Why Is Tipping Mandatory?

I read a news item recently about a US Congresswoman getting bad press because she had apparently not left a big enough tip at the restaurant where she ate. Her staff felt compelled to put out a press statement clarifying that she did, in fact, leave a tip and that it was quite large. I found this quite ludicrous. This lady was being defensive, as if she had been caught out in some crime or, at least, a misdemeanor.

In my opinion, this whole idea that tipping is a mandatory obligation is a bit absurd. It is even more bizarre that there exists a minimum percentage of tipping. By its very definition, a tip is an expression of appreciation for services rendered. Yet, according to American custom, you are expected to pay a minimum 15% of the bill, or else risk public embarrassment. And this is irrespective of the quality of the service rendered. I may receive the most sullen and uncooperative service at a restaurant, but if I do not tip the waitress, she is the one who gets offended. How crazy is that?

Yes, I have heard the argument that most restaurant staff members rely on tips to make ends meet. But isn’t that a cop out by the restaurant management; a convenient excuse for paying them lower wages than they deserve? Going by current menu prices at even moderate scale restaurants, the management must make a pretty good profit on the food offered. So why do they expect the customers to subsidize their staff’s salaries?

It may surprise some Americans to learn that tipping is by no means a universal practice. In Australia and New Zealand, tipping is almost non-existent. Many Asian countries do have tipping, but there is no compulsion and no minimum amount. And the tip, when it is offered, is accepted with gratitude; and not as a birthright.