I spent some time recently in both Amsterdam and London and there is something to be said about a tipping culture in the service industry.
In most states your paying wait staff anywhere from $3-$7 an hour to be there and serve your ass food. They can only do that because of tips.
I’m walking into little restaurants at 4pm with 3 tables seated, sitting at the bar and waiting almost 10 minutes for the nice girl behind the bar tinkering with coffees to make eye contact with me. I’m at a Italian place in London and watching the “waiter” mill around checking his phone and swinging by “his tables” when he feels like it....got me waiting forever for everything. Breh brings me my flat bread pizza....uncut. I go “oh, it’s not cut?” He’s like, can you cut it yourself or do you want me to cut it for you????
Heck even the nice places I went to for work were just OK compared to the service you get at places in the states. Tipping in service makes the server care about you for your money. Try eating out places that aren’t 4 star in non tip culture corners of the world and you’ll come back home tipping.
That being said, I ain’t tipping the coffee joints/take out spots etc. I’m tipping at sit down restaurants with waitstaff bringing your food. I also never tip less than 20% on principle.
I’m also not very frugal with my money, but that’s a whole separate thread.