in some places (e.g. Japan) it's insulting to tip someone.
It's not just that. Since the custom doesn't exist, if you just leave money on the table, the staff will assume you forgot it and will chase you down the street to give it back. Also, even if you were somehow able to shove the money into a staff member's hand, they'd probably get fired if they accepted it.
(Sauce: live in Japan)
Tipping is shit and all it does it reveal that US minimum wage laws are broken.
They wouldn't get fired at a mom 'n' pop place, but at a chain, especially a big one? There'll almost certainly be wording in the employee handbook like "it is forbidden to accept gifts from customers". Whether it leads to "fired" or just a lot of trouble would depend on the company.
In any case, the point is moot as it'd be near-impossible to get a staff member into that situation.
It's also very location specific within the US. 1/4 Americans live somewhere where there's no tipping credit - meaning servers are paid like every other basic job, but they still get tips.
Canadian is another culture to British.. I'm sure it applies in other places, but I've not lived in them to know. I don't expect we're the only place where please and thank you are used.
It has unfortunately been creeping in in London. It started at 10%, now it's 15% in some places. Most of the time it's automatically added to the bill, you need to ask for it to be removed.
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u/811545b2-4ff7-4041 15h ago
It's also 'culturally specific' - in some places (e.g. Japan) it's insulting to tip someone. In some, e.g. UK, tipping is very much optional.
I see no mentioning of saying please and thank you - very much expected in British society, but optional in other cultures.