The age-old defence of the US tipping system goes something like: servers are (for some arcane reason) paid below minimum wage, therefore, they rely on tips to make up the shortfall. But why does this charge fall upon the consumer and not the employer? It’s not like the US is cheap any more, either. You’d be hard-pressed to find breakfast and coffee for less than $20 these days – and that’s before you add taxes and tips. 

One independent restaurateur told me that she couldn’t afford to operate her business if she paid her staff the national minimum wage of $7.25 (£5.53) per hour. I found it impossible to believe. If this is the meagre profit margin of one of the planet’s most successful economies, then maybe we need to rethink our idea of wealth and prosperity. 

But you know what really took the biscuit? Being prompted to pay a 25 per cent “tip” on an already grossly overpriced cup of “coffee” at a Starbucks in Oklahoma. Yes, that Starbucks. The global mega brand, worth £110bn, which has faced intense scrutiny over its own tax arrangements in the past. 

What next? Picking up the postage and packaging for Jeff Bezos’s Amazon deliveries? Or maybe we should all chip in and top up Elon Musk’s Lithium Ion-powered runaround?

You might think that tipping has the unwavering support of all Americans. It’s as ubiquitous in the land of stars and stripes as country music and the John Deere baseball cap. Think again. 

According to a 2023 survey by the American personal finance website, Bankrate, two thirds of Americans have reached a tipping point, believing that the US approach to gratuities is spiralling out of control.

“We are a culture that is experiencing tipping fatigue,” says Diane Gottsman, National Etiquette Expert at The Protocol School of Texas. “We as a whole are feeling upset, frustrated, anxious, when we walk up to the counter and pay for a cup of coffee and then they turn the app around and they suggest tips that are almost equal to the cup of coffee.”

Gottsman believes that most Americans feel just as embarrassed about these new “tips” as many Britons will do on their next US holiday. 

“That tip is supposed to be discretionary, but it puts pressure on the consumer. We as consumers need to understand that we shouldn’t feel that pressure. The people behind us in the line are feeling that pressure and the people behind the counter feel the same pressure when they go buy a coffee or a bagel.”

So, what will I do on my next US holiday? In a diner, bar, or restaurant, I’ve decided to swallow my pride and cough up 20 per cent – “the sweet spot,” according to Gottsman. But when it comes to these new stealth tips, where my British instinct is telling me a gratuity is ridiculous, I’ll hold my nerve, tap, and run.