I’ll counter with a question: do you tip when you buy a new laptop? At the grocery store when buying milk? If so, how much? If not, why not? As a customer, I w

I’ll counter with a question: do you tip when you buy a new laptop? At the grocery store when buying milk? If so, how much? If not, why not? As a customer, I want to know the real costs ahead of time. As an employee (last received tips some 30 years ago, but still…) I would like to get paid for the work I did, not that 50% of my pay would be contingent on how authentic I can make my fake smile look on a stressful day. I usually tip 20% wherever I am because I am too lazy to figure out the local culture and because I can afford to; but I seriously hate it. Visiting Germany 15 years ago was a bliss in this respect - the expectation was to round up to the nearest euro, if any tip at all. But I understand that now, at least in Berlin, 10%-20% tip has become the norm.