Did they also ask for the credit card processing fee, too?
Iāve seen that for online donations.
But asking for a tip for the staff being paid? I wonder how many people actually do it?
This was on top of the the credit card fee
I assume when I swipe my card and the option to tip comes up it is because it is built into the software - maybe I am wrong? I tip servers at sit-down restaurants or bars. I donāt tip carry out (except one pizza place with great high school kids working there). It has never occurred to me to tip at a Chipotle, etc.
I donāt think I have gotten the tip āaskā at at retail store, but I am not a big shopper and if I do actually go to a Target, I usually do self checkout. A mall - havenāt been in one in years 
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Interesting. Average tip for a barista was 10% while a bartender was 20%
Average tip for fast food or food-to-go is zero!
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Not surprised about the bartenders. People tend to over tip when drinking, tips are often paid by the drink in even dollars, usually rounded up (e.g. youāll throw in $2.00 on an $8 drink), big tips often are meant as an inducement for heavier pours and faster service, and the most successful bartenders tend to be attractive and personable which is going to affect the tip.
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I just came back from a guided tour in Europe. The tour organizer gave us guidance about tipping the local tour guide, group tour guide and the bus driver. It really annoyed everyone. It wasnāt an inexpensive trip, so it wasnāt the expense of the tips that annoyed us, it was the fact that we had to have change with us to tip. We all said to the tour organizer why not just add in the tip to our total cost. Everyday we were asking each other , ādo you have change for $20, $50.ā
Again, just freaking charge customers the right price and pay your employees a living wage.
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Iām glad you mentioned that. I will make sure to get cash when we get to Europe.
We did a tour and I have to say that tipping the bus drivers and guides was the most irritating part. Finding change every day and making sure you had enough and not too much!
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I assume tipping in USD is ok ? Or do we need to get foreign currency. I can just bring singles galore or singles and 5s and use as needed.
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In Europe? Use Euros 
, or the currency of that country.
Donāt use dollars unless itās specifically said that is what is preferred.
We have leftover euros and Swiss francs. Good excuse to go again. 
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Ok. In my āarrogantā mind everyone loves USD. But will have to learn the tipping culture and then get some Euros (and Shekels) for Israel.
My other thought is just like here - use my cc for everything. I just did in Canada. One of mine has no exchange fees.
Also interesting we just bought an airline ticket from Israel to Greece. It asked what currency we wanted to pay in. We did the conversion. Shekels was $20 less than USD. Wizz Air was the company. From Tel Aviv to Santorini. Unfortunately theyāve since cancelled the flight. Hope they provide the promised refund.
Agreed. I wouldnāt hand out US dollars. What would the locals do with it?
Yes, I recommend that. I travel internationally quite often (for work), and credit cards result in the best transaction rate. And withdraw cash at an ATM using your debit card. Donāt ever use currency exchange counters.
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If we were with a bus driver or tour guide all day, we would tip them. But for a quick jaunt from the river cruise ship to town center, we would not.
I mean, if tipping is annoying to anyone, donāt do it!! By definition a tip is never ārequiredā, is it?
What if you donāt? Itās not like they will add it to your bill! Some river cruise companies add the tip to your bill for āconvenienceā but I am sure if you insist they will remove it.
I donāt use a debit card here. And certainly wonāt there. Itās direct access to your bank account.
I think debit cards in general are a terrible idea. I know people who have lost money. There are protections like CCs but itās not easy to get back.
And while my family uses them Zelle and Venmo are even worse. Zero protections. The banks back Zelle bcuz they need it to work but legally they donāt need to.
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Iāve read that in some countries (I think I read Egypt) that guides prefer very crisp American dollars.
Probably because dollars are more stable than the local currency.
But in Europe, your bank would be suspicious if you started depositing American currency. At least thatās what I was told.
But for a country that wants American dollars and you are on a tour, you would be informed of that.
Itās like saying hello and goodbye in the local language, when in that country use their currency.
We didnāt use any cash except for tips. Kinda annoying because we would have used our credit card exclusively. But it was expected and we happily did.
We were told a $10/day/person is ācustomaryā tip for guide of our overpriced tour and USD is fine. I am bringing USD just for that tip, if we decide to give it.
Iām only counting the days we get significant help from guideānot the 1st day where we just have welcome dinner at unknown time & location and not last morning when we depart for another hotel on our own.
Our suggested tipping for a local guide was 5 euro. We had a bus driver and a tour director who were with us the whole time. We were asked to tip them 5 and 7 euros respectively. I was like, why not just charge us extra 12 to 17 euros per day.
When you take out money or make a payment on your CC, donāt convert it to USD, just use the local currency. Your bank and CC companies will give you the best conversion.
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