I ran into that many years ago - the server chased after us to return the tip and spent an inordinate amount of time explaining...

>In some countries a server can get offended if you give them too much tips, they take is as a signal that you believe that they are poor.
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>>In France, it is customary to not tip much. The servers there are professionals, not college students, etc. I hear they are well-paid. Basically, if you get a couple of Euros in change from a meal, you leave that as a tip and that's it.
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>>~~Bonnie
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>>>>>>>Here, at the end of the meal the server usually says, "Can I bring you anything else?" I'm tempted to reply, "No, absolutely nothing". Then, when she brings the bill, I would say, "But you said you weren't going to bring me anything else!".
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>>>>>>I managed to confuse a few people in the US by spreading my hands wide, like a bragging angler, while saying "so long" on departure.
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>>>>>I'm sure they (the minimum wage serving staff) admired you all for turning normal social pleasantries into some sort of sarcastic linguistic exercise
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>>>>Are you serious? I was a waitress for years and pleasant natured customers were the best customers to have... Don't your waiters/waitresses get tips over there or is it like most of Europe where the tip is included in the bill? It was difficult for me to not tip when I was in Europe - it's how we show our appreciation for great service (or even not so great service when you can tell the waiter is really trying or maybe just having a difficult time) Being a waitress can be very stressful and exhausting, a little humor helps.
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>>>>On my first day of waitressing I dropped blueberry pancakes on a customer by accident. The gentleman's face almost turned blue. He was so angry but he stayed. When he left, he dropped a tip large enough to pay 1/4 of my rent on the table (maybe he thought I was going to be fired :o) The customers from Europe were interesting to have for discourse, but no one wanted them in their section, because they always either didn't leave a tip at all, or computed it to exactly 15%.
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>>>Tipping is a minefield.
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>>> One thing I don't like is when the amount is left blank on the slip so you can fill in a tip amount and its then deducted from you card. I prefer to tip cash.
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>>>Also I feel too many places use tips as an excuse to offer low rates of pay and how is the tip money split up (front of house, kitchen manager etc).
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>>>I think a lot of people tip at 12 or 15% here. But then 12 or 15 % of what. If its an expensive place its quite a lot of money. Also on the continent a lot of places add service to the bill anyway.