I’ve got tipping down pat at home, but I’ve recently spent some time in Europe. Friends who live here said you pay what your’e charged, you don’t have to worry about doing math in your head, tax and tip are included. Easy, right? Not. So my friends, some who have traveled far more extensively than me, said of course you have to tip, just only 10%. Then, when I asked politely, I was told by locals that only Americans tip. Of course they’ll not say no, but really, it isn’t necessary. To top it off, I am handed a restaurant tab that say, in bold “service not included”. So, am I to tip and expect quiet sniggering behind my back? Or am I to pay the exact amount and risk being cheap? Or… a possible solution, how about pretending I don’t know the local currency and having the round up to the nearest whatever? Yes, I have seen some do this. Creative, I suppose. Instead of being tightfisted or American (why should that even be an issue?), I’m just not very smart. Hmm.
Husband and I pretty much agree to disagree when it comes to tipping. He’s old school – 15%, a dollar a bag, etc. In contrast, I’ve worked for tips and tend to be (possibly) overly-generous. Ask my barista. It is unlikely we’ll ever be on the same page, but there are worse things a marriage can suffer.
And…here’s Tim to the rescue. His blog is a romp to read, plus he has stick figures. And charts. I love charts. So, now we all know where we fall on the tipping spectrum. At least based on a relatively small survey of New Yorkers a couple of years back. Thanks, Tim, for doing the heavy lifting.
Here’s the link: Wait But Why on Tipping