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?
Only tip if it makes sense. I’m from the US, and I’ve also noticed that tipping culture is getting out of hand The only times you really want to tip is when you interact with people in sectors that rely on tips just to make at least minimum wage. In food service, this mostly means restaurants that have a server come to you and take your order. For other “café” type establishments where you go up to a counter and order that way, where a busser brings your food out to you, I would not tip because there isn’t another human monitoring your experience and ensuring you have a good time. This latter case includes fast food, actual cafés, etc.
So, if you go to places where you actually have a server, tip. Else, don’t bother.