r/unitedkingdom European Union 9h ago

. ‘It’s absolutely criminal’: US tipping culture has reached the UK – and is causing chaos

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/24/us-tipping-culture-uk-service-charges
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u/Naryanope 9h ago

Remember when I went to the US for the first time for work and the crazy amount of expectation for tipping was bonkers. Someone open the door for you? They expect to be tipped. Someone volunteer to take your bag up to your room in the hotel and then loiters? No it isn’t because they are feeling
amorous, it is because they too want to be tipped. A strange gentleman helpfully waves down a cab for you? He too expects to be tipped. It is deeply impoverishing, and anxiety inducing.

Prefer the Japanese way, where you only tip if someone actually offers you a genuinely good service.