Abstract
The act of guarding a car at a public parking space is a common service offered by "car guards" in Southern Africa. The car guard normally relies solely on tips in return for the service given. The objective of this research study is to better understand the predictors of consumer tipping decisions. More specifically this study examines, from a consumer decision making perspective, the role that service quality, personal norms and social norms play in determining a consumers' decision to tip car guards. The results showed that service quality and personal norms were significant predictors of tip size, while social norms are not significant predictors of tip size. The study discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.