The Itching Palm: A Study of the Habit of Tipping in America

Fed up of walking around like a money sieve, draining money everywhere you go because of the constant pressure to tip? Take a taxi? Tip. Hotel porter? Tip. Baggageman? Tip. Bellboy? Tip. Elevator boy? Tip. Hatboy? Tip. Lunch? Tip. Room service? Tip. Uber? Tip. Parking attendant? Tip. And as if this were not enough, we have now reached the point where even self-checkout machines are robotically prompting customers to tip. The custom is ubiquitous. It is also not optional in practice, even though it is in theory. Woe to the customer who tips poorly! As to those who defiantly refuse to tip? They might as well be dead, for they will never be served again. And in some cases their order will be vandalised by irate workers. In The Itching Palm, first published in 1916, William R. Scott demonstrates that complaints about the evils of this custom go a long way back. Aside from its pervasiveness, he details the devious (and humorous) psychological tactics used to extract tips from customers, both in America and Europe; the role of etiquette literature; the huge boost in profits it brings to employers; and the specious arguments used by said employers to justify shifting the majority-if not all- of the staff payroll onto the customer. Additionally, he surveys the various legislative efforts to eradicate the custom and the reasons they failed, as well as the opposition of labour leaders and their motivations. Ultimately, he argues that the custom is unethical, an affront to human dignity, and incompatible with a democratic society. As expected tip percentages have doubled since its initial publication, this text is twice as relevant today as it was a hundred years ago.