There is an undercurrent to this thread along the lines of "USA is a cultural imperialist, please stop exporting your view of the world to my bit of the world"
Tipping is just the catalyst

It is a pretty unsophisticated view of Americans but unfortunately a few posters seem to be perpetuating the steretype. A bit more sensitivity regarding cultural norms (and tipping is just a part of this) wouldn't go amiss by us all. I certainly remember first visiting China years ago and rounding up restaurant bills etc.....I wouldn't dream of doing that now, it is just alien to their culture and may be percieved as rude

Regarding tipping specifically, in circumstances where I know that the individual relies upon tips to achieve a living wage I tip. However, we all need to appreciate that this is not the case in all countries and locals may feel aggrieved by an importation of a tip culture.

It's all about being sensititve to your surroundings when abroad

nickyboy