I'm gonna share my lil tip story with you all, if you wanna read it... Sorry if it gets a little long, (AKA A "Markhamesque" wall of text...) but I promise not to mention 'poo' - Whoops - Just did !
Being from the UK, and only really used to tipping in fancy restaurants, I made my first trip to the USA in 1999
It was a biz thing. I was there with my wife, who was appearing at different locations as part of a 'Caravan of Stars' at 'The Tampa Show'
I ended up with her, and about 30 other pornstars and 20 or husbands and BFs in the VIP are of a 'strip club'...
Believe it or not, I didn't really want to be at the strip club at all, as I was Jet-lagged from my flight etc, and not really interested in seeing (more) naked girls etc... But I kinda went along with the crowd, if only to 'Support' my wife...
Pretty girl (Who worked there) approaches and say - Would you like a drink sir? I asked her how much for what I wanted, she said $10 (For a beer) and I thought, well, thats steep, for a beer, but well, I can afford it, so yeah, ok go ahead... She says she'll be back with it...
I find a ten dollar bill (Still not used to the money, as to me, it all looked the same) and have it ready, for when she returned. She handed me my drink, I said thanks and handed her the $10 and it was dark, and kinda noisy, but as she walked away, she looked at the bill, gave me a filthy look, and said something that sounded like an insult (but I couldn't hear it over noise) and walked away...
I didn't get what I had done wrong, so I asked someone (Poss Mike South - But dont quote me on that) what the problem was. I was told that the girl worked basically for tips, and I had insulted her! I DID NOT KNOW THAT! I thought that she was being paid to 'sell me' a ten dollar beer - and she had... & that was that...
But I did feel really guilty when I realized, and went off looking for her to give her another $10 as a tip... However, I couldn't find her, and even to this day, I still feel guilty about it !
Needless to say, lesson learnt, and cultural differences understood, from that point on, I was always sure to tip, and to tip genourisly everywhere I went in the USA for the next 8 years...
On the flipside though, I went to a Dennys with a female coworker in SD one day, and after the meal, I went to the bathroom. When I returned to the table, she said that while I had been in the toilet, she had paid the bill. I asked idf she had tipped (Cause I wanted to make sure) and she said yep, all taken care of... So we left.
Day or so later, based on my car reg plate - Police showed up, asking why I had 'Dined and Dashed' !
Not only had she not tipped - She hadn't even fucking paid!
But, if you have read this far, my point is, dont jump on the 'Euros' and bad tippers or skinflints... Truth is, a lot of us (Like Myself) simply may not know!
After all, you americans are used to it, brought up with it - Its normal. But for UK peeps, not so much
