Just the other day, I visited a local barber shop for a haircut. The haircut was top notch, and I made sure to tell the barber my appreciation for the fine job. I returned home, and after being met by my father’s surprise for not giving a tip, I felt rather embarrassed.

I am not usually a horrible person. But after I left without giving the barber an ambiguous amount of money on top of the actual cost, I must have seemed. Perhaps it’s my English heritage, where we only tip 10% at restaurants. Either way, until now I hadn’t know that tipping is something that happens after a haircut.

Tipping is great. It lets a person know we appreciate their services, so much so that we’ll pay on top of the standard price. The problem is that the time and place to tip is often unclear. We know that tipping is expected at restaurants, but what if the restaurant includes a service charge in the price? Is that meant to be the tip? Do we tip on top of the predetermined tip? Will our money go to the sever? Do we ask them how much to tip?

Another problem is the last of those questions above. If I ever have to ask if I should tip, I’m definitely doing the act of tipping wrong. Tipping is meant to be subtle. Everyone pretends the tip doesn’t happen, but it does. But what if we give a tip when we aren’t meant to? Does the person think we pity them? What if they turn it down? Then things just become uncomfortable.

If anyone is ever looking for a reason to travel as little as possible, tipping would be a worthy excuse. The whole tipping problem becomes especially troublesome when traveling to other countries. Or worse, other continents. It seems that every place in the world has nuances when it come to the tip. In Japan, people will be offended if you try to tip. Great, now I come off as a bad person if I try and offer someone extra money in a different country. Or if I don’t give enough extra money, I’m still a bad person. Ideally, don’t travel.

Rules for tipping:

– Do it
– Don’t do it
– Don’t undertip
– Don’t overtip
– It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re still a bad person.