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[[File:Jar for tips at a restaurant in New Jersey.JPG|thumb|right|200px|A tip jar in a [[New Jersey]] restaurant]]
A '''tip jar''', also known as a '''tip cup''' is a container, commonly a glass jar, into which customers can put a [[gratuity]]. A tip jar is usually situated at the point-of-sale at many businesses.  Although common in many countries around the world, tip jars in food and drink establishments are ubiquitous in the [[United States]].
The tip jar has become a source of controversy. Customers may feel discouraged from patronizing establishments using them. They may also feel that tip jars are inappropriate at certain types of establishments such as movie-theater concession counters, dry cleaners, take-out restaurants, gym locker rooms or grocery bagger's work stations. Many feel social pressure to use them,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/09/13/biz_biz1jars.html |title=The culture of tip jars |publisher=Enquirer.com |date=2004-09-13 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref> or that they are paying too high a total price when purchasing a simple item.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Susannah Cahalan]] |url=https://nypost.com/2010/04/11/tip-jar-madness-takes-city/ |title=Tip-jar madness takes city &#124; New York Post |publisher=Nypost.com |date=2010-04-11 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref>
==History==
The tip jar may have originated hundreds of years ago. A 1946 editorial in ''Life'' claimed that
English taverns used prominently displayed urns for tips that were labelled 'To Insure [[:wiktionary:promptitude|Promptitude]]'. However, there is no historical evidence to support this.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delmartimes.net/2011/09/29/kitchen-shrink-counter-culture-the-tip-jar-you/ |title=Kitchen Shrink: Counter Culture: The tip jar and you |publisher=Del Mar Times |date=2011-09-29 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url=http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1267&context=jbl&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DTO%2BINSURE%2BPROMPTITUDE%2Bsite%253Aedu%26go%3DSubmit%26qs%3Dds%26form%3DQBRE%26filt%3Dall#search=%22INSURE%20PROMPTITUDE%20site%3Aedu%22 | title=The Case Against Tipping | access-date=2024-08-11 | journal=U.PA. Journal of Labor and Employment Law| volume=9 | page=4 | first=Yoram | last=Margalioth }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=tip&searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |date=1946-07-15 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref>
==Proceeds==
Usually, the accumulated tips are divided among all of the workers during the shift.
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sj-r.com/article/20090610/News/306109892 |title=Tip jars: The new counter culture - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL |publisher=Sj-r.com |date=2009-06-10 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref> In one case, a court case resulted when supervisors and assistant managers claimed that they were entitled to a share at a [[Starbucks]] coffee outlet in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0528/Starbucks-tip-jar-at-the-center-of-NY-high-court-case-video |title=Starbucks tip jar at the center of NY high court case (+video) |publisher=CSMonitor.com |date=2013-05-28 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref>
==At piano bars==
A pianist at a [[piano bar]] may earn tips from a tip jar to supplementing the normally small salary. This may be a basket, jar, or oversized brandy snifter placed on or near the piano. Tips may be given by customers who have been played a song that was requested by being written on a napkin.<ref>Swenson, John. [http://www.offbeat.com/2008/12/01/pat-obriens-the-songs-remain-the-same/ "Pat O'Brien's: The Song Remains the Same"], offbeat.com, August 20, 2012</ref>
==Digital tip jar==
This allows customers to swipe their credit card in a simulated tip jar. The card reader is set to charge a certain amount, normally one dollar. Customer wishing to tip more can swipe the card numerous times.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/5940404/digital-tip-jar-lets-you-leave-a-dollar-with-your-credit-card |title=Digital Tip Jar Lets You Leave a Dollar With Your Credit Card |publisher=Gizmodo.com |date= 4 September 2012|accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Funaro |first=Kaitlin |url=http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/ask-money/tip-jar-gets-digital-makeover |title=The tip jar gets a digital makeover |publisher=Marketplace.org |date=2014-06-06 |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref>
Payment kiosks operated with software and hardware from companies like [[Block, Inc.]] (formerly and still commonly known as Square), also act as a digital tip jar, encouraging people to click a tip button. However, Square has been criticized in the past for encouraging customers to leave gratuity out of guilt. These "tip screens" have also been blamed for accelerating [[tipflation]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Brian X. |date=2023-03-01 |title=Tech Is Allowing Businesses to Overcharge You in Tips |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/technology/personaltech/tipping-defaults-digital-payments.html |access-date=2023-04-05 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-17 |title=Digital Tip Jars: New tipping trend has customers sweating it out at checkout counter |url=https://abc7ny.com/tipping-digital-tip-jar-guide-system/12583116/ |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}</ref>
New kiosk-less methods of digital tipping are making their way into our ever growing cashless society.  Rather than use a bulky card reader or a pre-defined tip button, new companies like [https://www.tip-buddy.com/ Tip Buddy] are making digital tipping available through the use of QR codes that open an interface on the tippers mobile device.  Secure payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay are making the experience easy and fast for the tipper.
==See also==
{{Commons category|Tip jars}}
*[[Mandatory tipping]]
*[[Tipflation]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Money containers]]
[[Category:Tipping]]