After experiencing North American tipping culture first hand, food and drink writer Sarah Campbell warns that the same pressures emerging in Scotland could be bad news for both diners and staff.

My ongoing struggles with North American tipping culture came to a head last week at a tourist trap in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.

Hot drinks at the visitor centre cafe were a self-service operation, meaning I’d picked up a pair of chunky ceramic mugs, selected the option for hot chocolate from an all-in-one machine that whirred and spluttered until it spat out the final drips of sweet, milky cocoa, and carried the finished product over to the till to settle up – all with my own two hands.  

No real hardship by any means. But when a staff member sitting behind the counter presented a card reader suggesting a service charge of at least 15%, I found myself questioning which step of the DIY effort could merit such a hefty tip.  

This was far from the first, or last, time during a holiday across Canada and the US that my people-pleasing ways would ultimately see me adhere to newfound cultural norms. In fact, at one particularly low point, I even sprang for the added cost on an already extortionate bottle of Diet Coke purchased at a gas station for fear of ruining the........

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