I was a counselor for a number of years in 2 different camps and i havent gotten paid from EITHER one yet. The camp claimed that they were short in money bla bla bla and that they hope to pay by chanuka… whatever the story i didnt get paid so i was sort of relying on the tips ( which by the way i got very very little and i had the hardest bunk)
On the other side of the coin– My mother has k”h a lot of children in camp and she always complains how hard it is to tip so many counselors and rebbis she feels it never ends. I appreciated getting even 7 dollars with a nice note. it makes a difference.