7 Tipping Mistakes That Make Americans Look Ridiculous Abroad

How a “Nice Tip” Can Backfire in Europe and What You Should Be Doing Instead

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Image Created by the Author and Dall-E

Ever leave a tip in another country and feel like you just handed someone an insult wrapped in local currency?

I have.

In Krakow, I slid a few notes under the espresso cup and gave the waitress a friendly nod.

She returned moments later with the cash in her hand and a look that said, “Try again, Yankee.” I thought I was being polite.

Turns out, I was the punchline of someone’s lunch break.

Tipping, it turns out, isn’t a universal language. In some places it’s a thank you.

In others, it’s an accusation.

In France, a fellow traveler I met in Strasbourg at a pub left a few coins and got the kind of side-eye usually reserved for loud tourists trying to show off and line-cutters at the bakery.

Even in Italy, where I assumed tipping was welcome, I’ve seen locals just round up the bill and walk out like it was nothing.

Meanwhile, I’m calculating percentages like I’m preparing a tax return, sweating over…