I was in Paris recently and had an interesting experience at a restaurant. As I pulled out my phone to pay at the handheld terminal, the server asked me whether

I was in Paris recently and had an interesting experience at a restaurant. As I pulled out my phone to pay at the handheld terminal, the server asked me whether I'd like to add a tip. I asked whether the bill was "service included" as is the custom in France. He responded that the servers don't get that money, and that "we" encourage an extra tip to show appreciation for good service. He had clearly given this speech before, as it felt like he was reading from a script. I was speaking broken French to him, and he was speaking broken English to me, so I may have missed a nuance. But that was the gist. I left an extra 10%. The server was unusually nice for Paris standards, but I wouldn't have even thought to tip if he hadn't asked. Afterward, I wondered whether this was a Parisian hack on the service compris tradition. Everything he said was true, but it was manipulative in that it sidestepped my question whether the policy had changed. And I was pretty obviously American, so he knew I was accustomed to tipping.