Originally Posted by
sparkchaser
Not really. There have been times when tips were refused.
We were in Kiev and went to a random restaurant, enjoyed our meal but did not leave a tip because we had been told that tipping was not customary. We went back a few days later and our server apologized profusely for the quality of service last time and then that's when we realized we probably should have tipped. She received a nice tip after that meal.
I usually go to Kiev once a year or so. During last several trips, most of the time tips were not expected, but I tipped ~10% anyway. Waiters seemed more than happy even at fancy establishments.
Regarding NYC, I try to vary tips based on levels of service. 16% as a default, 18% for very good service, 20% for outstanding, 0% if something was very wrong. Of course there are exceptions, e.g tipped 35% but server didn't include many items he brought for free
