“It’s as Backawards as Can Be”: Things in American Culture That Make No Sense to the Rest of the World

Tipping servers and other customer-facing employees is a uniquely American thing. In fact, it’s considered extremely rude not to tip in the States, whereas the rest of the world doesn’t really engage in this practice. The reason behind tipping culture is kind of depressing. It arose out of necessity and still exists for the same reason today.

If you’ve ever worked a service job, you know how essential tips are to make a living. Restaurants and other places of business tend to pay their employees less with the excuse that they will receive tip money from customers. Overall, tip culture is pretty embedded into the American psyche. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.