Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
It "is recommended" that you drink bottled water in restaurants because they want to sell the water to you rather than provide it for free. The server also wants the service charge or tip from the sale of the water.
Could the little hotel have formerly gotten their water from a cistern or well?
There is no tipping in Italy. The waiter receiving the tip doesn't mind getting handed free money from an American, but every Italian in the restaurant hates to see someone tip. There is no tipping in Italy. If the coffee costs .8 euros, you might leave the .2 euros on the counter. If the check in a restaurant is 4.50 euros, you might leave the 0.5. If you leave nothing, that is what is expected. Italians hate when people go there and tip, as in the USA. The waiters don't mind if you hand then your wallet, but Italians don't want that American habit to become standard over there, so even if you have a $500 dinner, no tip is the standard.
No tipping in Italy, so I don't know what you are talking about. It's not as serious as Japan, where if you leave one dollar on the table after eating a $100 meal the manager will send everyone out of the kitchen to track you down and force you to take the dollar back. The fact is, there is no tipping in Italy, so your argument makes no sense.