Originally Posted by plasticpi

I'm with those who think that a professional does not accept tips. The only people I think are the exception to this rule are waiters. And I only think that because the restaurants get away with paying them less than minimum wage because they've convinced somebody that tips are a part of their income, which is complete bovine excrement.

Even so, tipping really only seems appropriate when somebody does something for you that you could have done yourself. Waiters, cab drivers, pizza delivery drivers, and the like don't do anything that you couldn't have done. Tipping them is just a monetary "thank you" for keeping me from having to get up to get my food, drive to the airport, or go get my pizza. We do a job that our customers (typically) can't do for themselves, and therefore it's a skilled profession, and not one that should be tipped.