In 1926, laws against tipping were repealed. But how do Wisconsinites feel about the practice today?

APPLETON - Meghan Selenka is a young entrepreneur who opened her first business as an esthetician just seven months ago. As the owner of Meghan Caroline Esthetics, where she provides cosmetic services, Selenka is used to receiving tips from her clients after their appointments.

Americans are familiar with the concept of tipping in a food service environment. But when it comes to other service industries, who to tip and how much to tip is often debated.

Although she sets her own prices, tips from Selenka's clients bring in a little more revenue, which allows her to improve her business. For example, she recently purchased a new machine thanks to tips she'd received.

"I never expect people to tip me because my pricing structure covers all my bases, but I do take it as a huge compliment when people do tip," Selenka said.

Selenka also has experience in the food industry. As a server, Selenka said tips were much more vital for her to make a living — so much so that when she didn't receive them, it made an impact.

100 years ago, in some parts of the country, tipping was illegal

At this point, it's safe to say customers understand why they should tip their waiters, waitresses and bartenders. The habit is so ingrained that some restaurants will include a gratuity on the bill for larger-than-normal tables.

Because these occupations are most likely to receive tips, the hourly wage is usually minimum wage or less.

While the origins of tipping in the U.S. are often debated, Time states that the origin of tipping most likely came from wealthy Americans in the 1850s and '60s discovering the practice while on vacation in Europe.

Tipping originated during medieval times when a servant would receive extra money for having performed above expectations.

Initially, American diners rejected the idea of tipping because it came off as classist and condescending, but as slavery became unconstitutional and former slaves and lower-class citizens began to look for actual work, they turned to food service jobs, including waitressing.

Employers would not pay these workers under the condition that customers would offer them tips instead.

Even then, many states rejected the idea, and by 1915 six states had made the practice illegal.

Iowa passed a law stating anyone who accepted any form of gratuity could be fined or even imprisoned. In 1918, Georgia deemed tipping as a form of bribery, and therefore it was illegal.

Yet all of these laws were repealed by 1926, and tipping took off as the norm in American society.

"It really took off in the 20s, right around prohibition, when sales started to drop in the restaurant industry and in the bar industry," said Mike Balistreri, hospitality management instructor at Fox Valley Technical College.

As a way of making back the money they were losing by not selling alcohol, restaurant and bar owners would accept tips from customers in exchange for better seating.

78% of readers surveyed reported tipping food service 20% or more; feedback mixed on other vocations

Servers rely on tips to make their money, and often leave each day with their money in hand, rather than waiting for a paycheck.

The U.S. Department of Labor shows tipped food service employees in Wisconsin must be paid a minimum of $2.33 an hour and must make a minimum of $7.25 an hour including tips.

"You have to literally track that and that can be a difficult thing to do," Balistreri said. "If somebody didn't make that difference up, then that's on the owner to pay out that difference to make sure that they're making minimum wage."

According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly pay for waitresses in Wisconsin is about $10 an hour, including tips, which is equal to around $21,000 a year. Wisconsin is ranked 28 out of 50 for highest waitress salaries.

The Post-Crescent recently ran a survey asking readers who they felt more inclined to tip. The survey received 245 responses.

When asked how much they typically tip food service workers, 193 respondents said they tipped 20% of the bill or more, 30 said their tip is based on performance and 10 said they tip 15% or less.

Terry Young, a Green Bay resident, says he makes sure to always tip when he goes out to eat, and that includes more than just his server.

"When I go out, the first person that gets tipped is the chef, based on how well the meal is, and that has nothing to do with the waitress or the bartender," Young said. "The waitress then gets tipped on how (good) her service is. I don't care how crappy the meal is, if she did everything she could to make me feel welcome and comfortable, she gets a tip."

Young said he also tips the bartender when he orders drinks. Young, who has experience working in the service industry, said he never tips below 20% unless his service was really bad, in which case he only tips 5% to 10%.

However, it's not just service industry employees he tips.

"I tip (mechanics) because that is a trade that they have learned and they get a straight wage from their employer, (but) they don't ever get tipped," Young said.

When it comes to tipping outside the service industry, the majority of the survey responses showed that delivery drivers, cosmetic workers and taxi and/or Uber drivers were among the most-tipped occupations.

Pet care workers, manual laborers, yard workers or landscapers and package deliverers were the least tipped occupations.

Kevin Putzier has worked as a lawn care technician for over 25 years and currently works with the lawn care company Weed Man, which services cities throughout Wisconsin. He said he never received a tip after doing his job.

"It's kind of an industry where tipping is, I'm not gonna say it's not appropriate, it's just more that it's not customary and normal," Putzier said. "The only reason it would have ever occurred to me is because I've worked tipping jobs. Working as a technician, I didn't expect them. I would have been surprised if somebody offered me a tip."

Putzier said that as a lawn care technician he earned enough hourly pay that tipping wouldn't have made a difference.

But tipping isn't always reserved for those who make lower wages. Some people may tip based on the services they are provided and how well the service is done.

Michele McCarthy-Pope has been running her own home cleaning service for 15 years; she also is the lead singer of her band Shelly Mack and the Reunion. She currently works in the Milwaukee area where she charges hourly rates for her services.

McCarthy-Pope said that although she sets her own prices, she feels like the services that she provides her clients should earn her tips.

"I feel 100% I should be tipped," McCarthy-Pope said. "I'm doing them a service every two weeks, and these aren't small rooms. I mean, it takes me a good five, possibly six hours, depending on how bad they trashed it from two weeks ago. If you have little kids and or animals in the house, it's a lot of work."

The cost of her service, which ranges from $25 to $30 an hour for new customers, is used to cover the cost of supplies and travel, so all of the money she earns does not go directly into her pocket.

Tips not only help bring in more income for McCarthy-Pope, but she says she feels more inclined to go out of her way for clients who often tip. For instance, doing small things like toilet paper décor or any other small decorations.

Rico Kimpel, who has 20 years of experience in the service industry, including as a bartender and a food delivery driver, said that he would oftentimes provide better or faster service to customers he knew would be tipping him.

In a position where he relied on tips to pay his bills, Kimpel said he would often check in on tipping customers before nontipping customers. In a way, he said, working for nontipping customers can be seen as working for free.

"It is my job, but I am a server, I am giving service to you," Kimpel said. "With that service, even though it's expected of me, I tried to go above and beyond so that I can get a better tip at the end of the night."

Should tipping culture end? One Appleton bar sends tips to charity instead

McFleshman's Brewing Co. is a brewery in Appleton where bartenders, or "beertenders," do not receive tips from the customers. Any tips that customers leave behind are donated to local charities.

"This way we are able to help our local community financially," said Jess Grim, taproom manager of McFleshman's.

The brewery has donated to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Wisconsin Ukrainians, CASA Fox Cities and Arts Incorporated.

At the brewery, employees are paid living hourly wages to eliminate the need to rely on tips for income.

"They always know they will have a paycheck with a living wage in it, not needing to worry if they make enough if their shift may be slower on a day, thus providing consistency and financial security to our staff," Grim said.

While a number of employees at McFleshman's also work other service jobs where they are tipped, Grimm said that those employees enjoy the security they get from McFleshman's.

"They've worked their other jobs and only come home with a total of $100 over three shifts." Grim said. "They like being able to know what they are coming home with."

Customers, while initially shocked at the nontipping rule, actually enjoy the idea that the employees are being paid fairly enough that tips are not necessary.

Participants of the survey appeared to share similar sentiment.

Of the 245 responses to the tipping survey, 99 respondents said that they feel inclined to tip because they feel like the workers are underpaid.

The second most common response was that the tipper had worked in a service position and felt for the employees that served them.

This is a common feeling among those who work in service-based jobs as well.

"I tip waiters, waitresses, food delivery people, Lyft or Uber drivers, even when I go on vacation, I usually leave a tip for the housekeeping," Kimpel said.

While most have conformed to tipping culture, although not always participating in it to its full extent, there are a few who believe tipping shouldn't exist.

"It shouldn't fall to the consumer to make up the difference in wages that the employer doesn't want to cover," one respondent said. "I'm willing to pay slightly more for services while dining out, but I'm not paying someone else an income that usually won't be reported."

Customers might feel like it is up to the employer to pay their employee a livable wage so that they won't have to rely on tips.

"It would be far better for establishments to pay a decent wage, $20 or more per hour, and eliminate tipping," said another. "But restaurant menu prices would increase about 25% and customers would freak. Tipping is not expected in other countries I've visited. Yes, their menu prices are higher, but employees are happier and the goofy tipping confusion is eliminated."

As far as gratuity tips for workers who are not in the service industry, it seems like the discretion on tipping is left up to the customers.

"If they give me good work, I want to tip them for doing that," McCarthy-Pope said. "It helps them grow their business, and they're going to do a better job if they're tipped."

Grim believes that without tips their staff has the opportunity to provide an equal, higher and more genuine level of service to all of their customers

Balistreri said that there are different pros and cons to tipping culture, which can be confusing to customers.

"Where it becomes really murky is when somebody's job or someone's livelihood is based on the idea of making a tip, because then it puts them in a potentially risky scenario of 'what do I have to do to make that tip?'" Balistreri said.  "It's not necessarily that there's a good or a bad side to it, I think that the problem is that there's too much unknown in the tipping realm."

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Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-226-4241 or jburns1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Tipping: Bribery or a thank-you? For some Wisconsinites, it's a living