My girl put this question to me the other day... why do we tip waitresses cab drivers and the Pizza Boy... but we don't tip the person selling you your shoes... are the nice person that helps you pick out that perfect coat..
.. or your mailman or anybody else for that matter..hmmmm

Some people tip for many types of services other than what you stated.
Tipping is for good or kind service.

It seemed in my life, wherever I lived, the mailman/woman was always given a tip around the holidays at the end of the year. They have to go through a lot to deliver mail every day (except Sunday). In my town, the postal carriers are not allowed to accept tips. I'm not sure why.

It's common courtesy to tip all those in the service industry. Postal carrier, trash collector, maid, and yes even the shoe sales person or the haberdasher. Unfortunately too many people see tipping as nothing but an added expense and not as an expression of gratitude for good service.

The tip is supposed to be for personal service beyond the basic job. For instance the bar tender who recognizes you, greets you and knows your normal drink. The one that is there to give you a refill just as your glass is getting empty. The same thing with the waitress; it is the smile when he/she greets you, the little extras they might do for you, the coming back to check on you a couple minutes after they served you. Others in the service jobs helping you. When someone actually helps you with your luggage or the clerk that helps you get that bundle of dry cleaning safely hung in your car. The postman or UPS driver that made sure your package was put in a safe, dry place. Usually those type people are tipped as a Christmas present.

Another big issue is what is called a tip credit. Some states allow a sub-par minimum wage for tipped employees. There is a legal assumption the employee is going to get a certain percentage of sales in tips to make up for that minimum wage. Recently I was told by a good source where they worked tipped employees got something like $2.60/hour pay + tips. That is not true everywhere as it is a function of state law. Varies from state to state. You, as the customer, are expected to provide so much of the employees income. Personally in a state where there is no tip credit I tip less while in a state where there is a tip credit, I tip more to make up for the low wages. Especially true when you get good service and plan on visiting again. Those employees do remember who helped them out and will return the service in some way.

Well, from reading this, I'm going to give my hairdresser a tip. I like her a lot and she is a good with my hair. She does not overcharge me.

For me, having worked in many different jobs, I consider the type of job and the likely number of customers and type of pay they are surviving on.

For instance, I was a waitress, we received less as waitress than minimum wage because we were considered employees with tips. I know that the effort and energy of being on your feet all day is worth MUCH more than that and the tips are often the majority of what the staff survive on, so I tip.

As a cab driver, we had to PAY for the cab for the day(like leasing a car), and then the cab company required so much per mile or whatever. That means, whatever miles we drove had to at LEAST cover the cost of the cab for the day and we survived on what was left over, minus gas, which we also were responsible for. So, at the end of the day, knowing someone is providing a service and scrapping by on much less than the effort is worth, at least in my opinion, makes me prone to tip.

Salespeople often work on wage and commission, so they are already being compensated for the time they spend with me, plus their hourly wage.

Bottom line, I believe people should be paid for their time and effort. I consider whether the employer is compensating fairly for those things. And if not, I tip.

I usually give my barber a dollar or two; enough for a coffee or snack.

Another nice way is gift certificates. Some places give a discount or bonus for buying their gift cards. My local bar/restaurant gives you $120 in gift certificates for every $100 you spend. What you don't give out for Christmas tips, you can use yourself.

Over here we don't have to tip like in the US. People must get at least minimum pay by law. It's illegal to pay less.

It's normal to leave a tip in a restaurant if the service and food was good. This, however, is not for the person who served you. It goes in a pot and every month or few months it's divided among personnel.
That way ppl in the kitchen also get their fair share of the tips. With your system they'd never get anything. Here we have kitchen ppl and separate serving people. It wouldn't be fair if the one who serves gets money and not the one who prepared it. People like my son -who works in the kitchen of a beach club- would otherwise get duped. Now he isn't. And what about the people who do the dishes?
It can add up during season. Close to half a month's salary.

Why not tip elsewhere? Dunno. Maybe in the past restaurant workers were paid crappy wages? Or maybe even nothing but a roof over their head, some clothes and food?

harmony, good to know.

You tip waitress/waiters cause they make $2.15 an hour...

Some Bartenders don't make much more then that~~~

Beyond that I tip my hairdresser and that is pretty much it for me..

Normally most make minimum wage~ but not wait staff~~

I was a Bartender for many years and a waitress.. Got paid more as a Bartender then a waitress... now days the waitress have to tip out or many places do a tip pool then divide it among all of them.. Which is a bs when you bust your tail and the one that does not still makes the same.. I have never worked at a place that tip pooled and would never work where they did..

Now if you have your food delivered then yes I tip them for the extra service... But not when I go pick it up..

I think 2.15$ an hour is way below minimum.

Tradition, customs, etiquette.
Why do we murder a tree, cover it in lights, and give each other presents, to celebrate a guys birthday when he's been dead for over 2000 years.


Some people do tip the mailman, and doorman, and all sorts of others.
Although sometimes it's in a yearly gift, or in the form of cookies and givingacrapness (being more friendly and caring towards them than others that don't do something for you).


Only if they make enough in tips to guarantee they make at least federal minimum wage.
The more you tip your waitpersyn, then the more likely their employer will only pay them 2.15. Wait staff make at least minimum wage. Tipping simply subsidizes the employer by directly compensating the employee.
Feel free to look up flsa tip credit.

Other than that:

What's this "we" white man?
Why do you choose to tip some but not others.
You are free to tip (or not) whomever you choose.
Is the better question "why do I feel so much guilt when I think about not tipping someone I've been brainwashed, err...socialized, into believing I should?"

Well believe it or not that is what they get paid from the company, then the Restaurant figures you make the rest up in tips per hour and they figure you are making minimum wage.. And then take taxes out of that.. Your lucky if your check is around $100 a week...

Only if they make enough in tips to guarantee they make at least federal minimum wage.
The more you tip your waitpersyn, then the more likely their employer will only pay them 2.15. Wait staff make at least minimum wage. Tipping simply subsidizes the employer by directly compensating the employee.
Feel free to look up flsa tip credit.

Sorry this is one time your wrong..the Employer is only allowed to claim that you made enough to make minimum wage..And they claim that regardless if you did or not. If you in fact make more then that then it is up to you to report it to the IRS when you file your taxes.. $2.15 an hour is standard for Restaurants to pay.

Yes, Texas is that way. Minnesota did away with tip credits about 3 years ago and all employees must get at least minimum wage from the employer. Any actual tips are on top of that. In the area where I live for the summer, you can't realistically hire anyone for much under $12/hour. I think my local convenience store starting wage is around $13/hour.

Sorry but according to this they are paid pretty much like in Texas just a couple more dollars more.. But if people think the Restaurant pays them that much they are so wrong. For they pay them the least they can then they figure they will make enough in tips within that hour to bring them to the minimum wage so on the check it looks like they are making in Texas $7.75 but in reality they are making $2.15 and paying taxes on $7.75 and in Minnesota the hourly rate is between $5.14 - $12.33 believe me they pay them on the lowest scale...

https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Waiter%2FWaitress/Hourly_Rate/885fca3b/Minneapolis-MN

Believe me I was a bartender/waitress for 20 years, I know how they get away with it.. But I will admit I made a good living doing what I did...Now days if they are good at waiting tables and hit the high end restaurants it is unreal what they can make.. Heck they tip double now then what they did when I waited tables.. But now each server only has 4-5 tables..

I worked as a mechanic fixing people's cars and trucks and I have gotten some pretty significant tips.
Those tips were not steady or guaranteed.
My hourly wage was well above minimum wage and tips were never expected.
I do know when a customer tipped me because I did a good job taking care of their needs, it felt good to be appreciated for my "and then some" service.

I tip standard 15% but more if they provided something extra others do not.

There are certain people I always tip, sometimes even without 'and then some' service.
Food service employees that wait on me are my number one tipped person.
However, I do tip people that do give 'and then some' service without expecting additional benefits for doing a good job.

On the issue of food service wages and tips.
I have read the federal register on the laws concerning it.
Food service workers do not fall into the minimum wage limits.
Been awhile since I read it so the laws might have changed but I don't think they have.

I tend to tip the standard 15% when it is a tip pool, then actually give the waitress the additional if her/his service warrants it.

Here in the UK most people did tip at Christmas the refuse collectors because of the nature of the job and out in all weathers, the milkman (a vanishing occupation here these days) because they to were out in all weathers. Tipping in hotels, restaurants, taxis, hairdressers was usually because the work was not that well paid, but also depended on the level of service received. These days of minimum wage laws, and gratuity or service charges being automatically added in many restaurants, tipping is no longer always expected where it once was.

The harder the job, the more likely I give a tip. And waitresses have a tough job alright.