Tipping perpetuates racism, poverty and stereotyping. It is an archaic process and should be done away with. A European Style model makes much more economic and social sense. Tipping began in the 18th Century. English horseman riding across country used small envelopes with money inside to pay for promptitude upon stopping at private residences to rest and feed their horses. Eventually, this practice made its way into coffee shops and the like evolving from ensuring promptitude before a service was rendered to allowing a monetary value to be allocated for a service at the end of a service. Now, tipping is no longer a custom practiced in Europe; however, it is rooted n the American culture as a social norm.
Though tipping is not technically required, it is so engrained in our culture that not tipping is accompanied with pangs of guilt and feeling of being cheap. But Americans in general are fans of the tipping process. We feel as consumers that we like the power and authority that accompanies deciding how much we will pay a server based on our satisfaction level. Though we may feel this way, studies show that this is actually false. In fact, according to a 2006 study of Matt Parett in the Southern Economic Journal, the two main determinants of tipping behavior are: 1. Past tipping behavior (with the largest factor being race); 2. The amount of the check. Neither of which have to do with the quality of the services rendered.
