Letter: Take a tip

Sir: In condemning the "archaic practice of tipping" Wendy ap Rees (letter 13 December) should ask students, past and present, if they felt "second-class citizens" when augmenting their grants by waiting at tables. I never did. Learning to serve teaches you to command. A bribe comes before the event: a tip is an appreciation of the service afterwards. It cements the deal between customer and supplier.

ROBERT VINCENT

Andover, Hampshire