Hey Folks!

I’ve been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here’s a 20, keep this change.

Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.

The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.

So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?

  • teawrecks
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    1 year ago

    I had one friend whose personal rule of thumb was:

    • did they come to my table to take my order?
    • did they bring my food to my table?
    • did they bus my table for me after?

    If they did 2/3, then they got a tip.

    If you’re eating fast food, you don’t have to tip, though they’ve been asking much more than usual lately.

    If you’re at a sit-down restaurant or having something delivered, tipping is standard.

    15-20% is normal.

    And it’s more offensive to tip low than to not tip at all. A low tip means they did a bad job, no tip might just be a protest against tipping.

    Yeah, tipping culture sucks. I prefer eating at places that deliberately tell you not to tip, but they are few and far between.