By: Mover el Bigote
I never gave much thought to tipping when I lived in the UK. It was (an easy to add) 10% for taxi drivers, hairdressers, and waiters/waitresses (if something hadn’t already been added to the restaurant bill). Poor service – round down. Abysmal service – no tip. Good service – round up. Great service – add a bit more. Oh and perhaps buy a pint for your favourite barperson at the pub, but that would be very unusual. The thing was, in my mind, the amount I gave was linked to the level of service.
That’s all gone out the window in Philly. Keep us waiting, be surly and mean, spill our food and drink all over us – no matter what you do, you’re going to get a 20% tip. Many service employees are paid minimum wage here. They live on tips. Plus some taxing authorities assume they’re getting about 12% extra – so if you don’t tip, they’ll wind up paying for the pleasure of serving you. Argh!
In some countries tipping is rare or very minimal. It might be viewed as “showing off” or even insulting. ‘You don’t think I’d give you good service anyway?’ ‘You think I’m hard up?’ So the US can be tricky place for foreign visitors. And if folks are like me, and come from cultures where the tip amount is related to the quality of service, this place is going to seem crazy. Here’s a helpful video about the complicated rules of ‘merican tipping.
So how much do you tip?
