If you didn’t know that tips were important, you do now

Many will be aware of the (sometimes excessive) tipping policies and expectations in the USA, however, you know the culture of tipping permeates all aspects of life when the mobile phones come with a tipping calculator as a more standard feature than a regular calculator. Now don’t get me wrong, I can imagine the ability to enter the value of your meal and see as it automatically calculates 15% could be extremely useful, but for me, it emphasises how different the European and American service industries are!

 

Charm school for door and service staff?

On a recent visit to the United States, I was interested to note the differences between the service cultures that exist on both sides of the Atlantic.

While obviously (though not completely) an industry that relies heavily on tips to pay the staff, the American service culture, however false, managed to make me feel welcome at every turn and more than happy to fork out an extra tip for the service. Surely this is a win win for staff and customers? Staff earn extra money and the customers get above average service, so why have we not managed to replicate this over here?

In cafes and restaurants, my glass was constantly refilled (at no cost for soft drinks…), there was no delay with my meals and I was thanked for my custom wherver I went. Door staff in bars and clubs called everyone Sir or Madam and thanked all customers as they left.

While I’m sure there are exceptions to these incidents, it certainly was refreshing to see a culture that clearly understands the difference between service and civilty.

 

Is Tipping gone mad?

While researching tipping habits around the world, I came across this helpful nugget of advice on Jackcolton.com:

“……It is customary to tip your tandem Sky Dive instructor about 20% of your total body weight since they actually have to work harder the heavier you are…..”

Does anybody have any other incidents of strange or excessive tipping situations around the world?