As someone who lives in America and has worked in the service industry, going out to eat and not tipping makes me so uncomfortable that I have to do it – even if those on the receiving end are just as uncomfortable accepting it
“She tried to tip a barman.” When I confessed this to my British coworkers, they were horrified. I had just recounted how I tried to tip a barman in Dublin by asking him to break a €5 bill and telling him that he only needed to give me €4 back; they tut-tutted and shook their heads.
“How would you feel if someone tried to give you a dollar every time you wrote a story?” they said. It seems that while visiting Dublin and London this month, I regularly insulted barmen, servers and hotel workers – many of whom seemed as uncomfortable at being tipped as I felt about not tipping them.
Related: Living on $2.13 an hour and tips: the harsh inequality of the service industry
Related: Restaurant industry rife with sexual harassment but bosses 'just laugh it off'
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