Tipping culture is annoying, unfair and worst of all American – and now it’s coming to Paris

In the US, I was asked to tip after buying a single banana. To my horror, tip-creep is spreading in French bars and restaurants

A s an American living in Paris, I’m not exactly sure when I first started having moments of culture shock on my visits back to the US. But there are two American practices that I now find irritate me no end: sales tax not being included in the sticker price of items, and tipping. (OK, three if you count non-detachable shower heads.)

In fact, Americans on the whole, it appears, are increasingly fed up with tipping, which has experienced inflation and creep: leaving 15% has morphed into standard options of 20%, 25% and 30%, and tipping has popped up in situations far removed from restaurant table service, such as takeouts, convenience stores and at self-checkouts. When it was time to return to Paris, an iPad screen at the airport suggested that I leave a tip after buying a single banana.

Even in Paris, tip-creep seems to be inching forwards, starting with anglophone coffee shops and making its way into bobo (hipster-chic) bars and restaurants – though with more modest suggested amounts of 3%, 5% and 7%.

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