No Gift, No Tip: What Europeans Understand About Tipping
In the US, the expectation of a tip seems to rest on a misconception: that the customer should fund a value with no corresponding goods behind it. Here in Europe, we may well leave an extra euro or two, but on the condition that something has been offered first. It can be a stiff drink on the house, a limoncello, a dessert we didn't order, an extra course, or a round of drinks for the whole table. And we never give more than what that gift is actually worth. It's a reciprocal exchange of courtesies, where the restaurant gives in order to keep its customers, and the guest answers in kind rather than out of obligation.