Recently, my friends and I decided to have iftaar at one of the best reputed restaurants of Lahore. We chose it from a multitude of options because it seemed to offer good food at a reasonable price.

Once we made it to the restaurant, the waiter staff was exceedingly gracious and besotted with the idea of making sure that we had good seats and were comfortable. But then an unseemly thing occurred.

All of them ganged up on us before the food was served and reminded us incessantly that we needed to tip them well. One of them went so far as to say that food would not be served until we tipped them. Imagine! The service hadn’t even been rendered but they were already asking us for tips.

The situation left us feeling awkward while damaging the quality of our experience because that is what we kept thinking about. Perhaps, the staff decided to be predatory because we were a bunch of 18-year-olds. Whatever their reasons, in order to dispel the awkwardness we tipped them even before the food was served.

To me, tipping or gratuity is a form of a tacit agreement between the diner and the waiting staff, that if the services rendered are good then the customer voluntarily gives a tip -- usually, 10% of the cost of the meal itself -- to show their appreciation.

The etymology for the synonym of tipping -- "gratuity" -- dates back either to the 1520s, from "graciousness", in French gratuité (14th century) or directly from Medieval Latin "gratuitas", "free gift", or probably to the Latin gratuitus (meaning: free, freely given).

Initially, I thought this was a one-off event and an exception. But my friends and I went out twice again for iftaar at different restaurants with good reputation, and experienced the same thing again.

Another interesting thing occurred at all the three restaurants we went to: we were given the impression that the cost of the food would be quite reasonable but it turned out that none of the places was printing the actual cost (you know, inclusive of tax!).

While we were aware of this, the cost almost always ballooned alarmingly high and we would have no means of knowing how much we were being taxed or even if we were being taxed. For all we knew, the restaurant might have charged us exorbitant prices because there is no regulatory mechanism in place.

Tips and their amount are a matter of social custom, and the custom varies from region to region. In some regions, tipping is discouraged and considered almost an insult; while in some other locations, tipping is expected from customers. In Japan and Iceland, tipping is not a part of culture. Japanese people see tipping as insulting and derogatory. While in countries like USA, Canada and The Netherlands, tipping is deeply entrenched in the local culture.

In the US, a counter-cultural movement is taking place where the restaurants in New York are banning tipping. Nowhere in the world, though, is harassing the customers for a tip considered socially acceptable.

I decided to investigate as to why the waiting staff was being so predatory. After talking to several waiters, I found out that most of them were being paid very meagre wages and the owners of these establishments could get away with that because the law in Pakistan has set the minimum wage rather low. In fact, these workers are not at all protected from being exploited by their owners because the owners often lower their wages even more under the pretense that these workers earn a fair deal through the tips that they accumulate.

This is a sad state of affairs. The waiters’ livelihood is literally dependent upon the generosity of customers? In America, the laws in states such as Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Guam specify that employees must be paid the full minimum wage of that state/territory (which is equal or higher than the federal minimum wage in these instances) before tips are considered. Perhaps, Pakistan should consider similar laws to protect the workers.

Upon discovering this, I didn’t care for my own restaurant experience but felt sad for all those workers who were being ‘exploited’. Whether or not ganging up on the customer is morally right is a value judgment I leave to you. But, clearly something needs to be done.