Originally Posted by
Doc Savage
Regarding the topic of this thread, "aggressive tip requests," I think we should let non-US people know that this almost never happens. Except maybe in New York. I have NEVER been followed out of a restaurant and asked to increase a tip, even when tipping light at 8-10% for mediocre service (granted, I rarely do that). To visitors, I suggest you just realize that about 12-15% is the usual amount left as tip (if you check some of the waiters websites, they are usually quite complimentary of a 15% tip), up to 20% for nice service, and factor that into the estimated cost of food, which seems inexpensive in the US compared to most of the rest of the Western world right now. It is just a different pricing model.
I don't mind tipping in restaurants - I even do it sometimes here in NZ, where tipping is not part of our culture. And my only experience of aggressive tip-seeking occurred in Canada (from the taxi driver who could have killed us by falling asleep at the wheel).
But, I do get extremely wearied of the constant exhortations to tip in touristy places, such as HoHo buses, coach tours, the Everglades airboat in Florida (which even had a picture of an alligator, telling us "Don't forget to tip"). At times, I have felt like deducting 50 cents from the tip every time I hear "Don't forget to tip" repeated rote-fashion. It's even more annoying than "Have a nice day"!