Retro Tipping Etiquette from 1963

I don’t think that good or bad service can he measured in percentage points. The actual word ‘tip’ (which is not found in the dictionary, per se) means ‘to insure promptness.’ If this is the case then it should actually he given prior to ordering. 

To Insure Promptness...

“It has been asked of me on several occasions, ‘What about tipping? How much? To whom? etc...’ This is one area in which I do not allow myself to be influenced by any rule book on etiquette. I think a tip is a very personal thing, and should be entirely up to the individual. I don’t think that good or bad service can be measured in percentage points. The actual word ‘tip’ (which is not found in the dictionary, per se) means ‘to insure promptness.’ If this is the case, then it should actually be given prior to ordering. 

It always gives me a great deal of satisfaction to leave a good tip, but I leave one based entirely upon service rendered. What ever your conviction is on this matter, I think that it depends completely upon your own feelings. But one thing I would like to point out, if the service is good, and you are pleased with your dining experience, then the tip should be a good one. Remember, a waiter depends on this income as part of his wages, and for the most part, they are a great bunch of fellows.” —By Al Morgan, “Morgan on the Move,” 1963

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Café And Restaurant Etiquette

“Tip quietly, discreetly; the girl with you will know you don't kiss and tell,” is the first rule of correct restaurant conduct, according to Niccolo de Quattrociocchi, who ran “El Borracho” in New York. The famed café was well known for it’s “Kiss Room.” Thousands of signed ‘lipstick-kissed’ cards, from various female patrons, hung all around the room. Newcomers added to the cards as time passed, adding to the room’s romantic whimsy.

Man Who Knows New York’s Famed 

‘Café Society’ 

Tells How to Behave Properly in a Café 

“Tip quietly, discreetly; the girl with you will know you don't kiss and tell,” is the first rule of correct restaurant conduct, according to Niccolo de Quattrociocchi, who runs El Borracho, a restaurant and rendezvous of Café Society. 

Nicky Q, as he is better known, has turned author with the issue of his book “Love and Dishes.” The volume is a combination autobiography and cook book, including recipes which Nicky has culled from his own kitchen as well as from the kitchens of other famous eating houses here, and abroad. 

Other rules which Nicky, a stickler for etiquette, puts forth for guidance are: 

• “Your cash looks much nicer than your personal checks. If you must write checks, make sure they are not ‘rubberized.’ 
• “Check your hat when you enter a smart joint. What's two bits to you? 
• “If you are the suave, mysterious type, you talk quietly. People next to you like to carry on conversations of their own, which is impossible if you are a loudmouth.
• “Don’t nag, frighten or otherwise convert waiters into nervous wrecks. Be nice and they will spread the word around about what a gentleman you are—if you are the type that likes to be taken for one. 
• “Make sure you really want what you order. A restaurant is not a department store. Exchanges sag the profit. 
• “If you are a girl, you will look ravishing and very alluring as you comb your hair in a restaurant. But who wants alluring hair flying into his soup?Use the powder room. 
• “If you feel romantic, don’t neck in a restaurant. There is time, place and a quiet room for things of that sort. 
• “Restaurants’ pepper and salt shakers and silver are really no better than yours. Besides, restaurants are not in the souvenir business. 
• “Don’t pick fights in restaurants. Chances are you will lose. 
• “If you feel sleepy, go home. 
• “If you are a boy who consents to his lady friend paying the check, make sure she comes across in the taxi. Everyone sees the money she passes to you under the table. 
• “Don’t be a sound effect eater. Chew with your mouth closed. 
• “Don't rinse your month with coffee. Please!” – New York Times, 1951

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

An Etiquette Tip and Tipping

"My fines," he said, "constitute my tips." Mournfully the waiter watched him depart. "How I wish." he sighed, "that I had known him in his sloppy days." 

An Unprofitable Etiquette Reformation

In a restaurant that strives to inculcate good manners, a man who admitted that he was rather slow on etiquette, but was trying to learn, besought the waiter to assist in the reformation. "My chief trouble," said he, "is splashing. I used to splash like anything. But by degrees I am curing myself. Know how? 

Well, sir, I have made it a rule to cover all the spots I make on the table cloth with silver money, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, whatever it takes to cover them, and then give the money away. As I am not a rich man, that nearly broke me and I began to reform." The waiter nodded encouragingly and said he was glad to hear it. 

The man ate a substantial meal. When he had finished, the cloth was disfigured with only one small coffee stain which a dime easily covered. He handed the dime to the waiter.

"My fines," he said, "constitute my tips." Mournfully the waiter watched him depart. "How I wish.' he sighed, "that I had known him in his sloppy days." — San Francisco Call, 1912

Tipping Etiquette and Stereotypes

From TIME Magazine, 2014

Some stereotypes about tipping appear to be true. Certain ethnic groups are perceived to be less generous tippers than others. Apparently, these theories are not simply urban myths. 

One recent study found that Hispanics tipped less at restaurants than whites after controlling for factors such as bill size and the customer’s personal feelings about the quality of the service and food, while the conclusion in another survey declared “restaurant servers and their managers can expect below average tips from black customers regardless of their social class.” 

Only 11% of Italians in a recent survey, meanwhile, said that they “always” tipped for service on vacation, compared with 60% of Americans.

Millennials are bad tippers too. Millennials are known to love tasting new foods and tend to dine out in “upscale, casual-dining” establishment more than older generations, yet roughly one-third of  Gen Y tips less than 15% at restaurants. 

Only 16% of people in demographics older than the millennials admit to tipping less than 15%.

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Moderator and Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia