Originally Posted by Yeti88
Couldn't agree more! ^ ^
From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
Main Entry: tip, Function: noun: a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated: see GRATUITY
Main Entry: gra·tu·ity, Function: noun: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service
Otherwise it's called wages/salary/rip-off!
Actually the alternate definition that applies in this case:
a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter)
Government mimimun wage laws and government tax reporting regulations all confirm that tipping a waiter is the basis of most of his compensation. Failing to tip a waiter (or other tipped position) is literally expecting the worker to serve you for free. IRS regulation impute tipped income to the waiter. The waiter may be literally paying (through taxes) to serve you.
We can certainly debate if the present system is fair or is the best way to handle it. There is no debating that the tip IS the wages/salary for the waiter.