US tipping culture is baffling TikTokers from around the world who are complaining about being told they're getting it wrong

• TikTokers who have visited or moved to the US are bonding over their confusion about tipping culture.
• Many are wondering why they're being asked to tip at coffee shops when they're ordering to go.

TikTokers from around the world are complaining about being caught off guard by US tipping culture.

Tipping is not a cultural norm in the same way in many countries outside of the US, and Americans who have moved abroad, as well as foreigners who have visited the US on vacation, are turning to TikTok to air their grievances about the practice.

One of the most common questions many of these users have is why they have been asked to tip at places where they haven't sat down for table service, such as at a coffee shop.

"Why do I have to tip 20% for somebody to pour coffee from a machine to my cup and hand it to me?" asked one user in a video posted on June 9, which has received 137,000 views.

The TikToker went on to say that she moved to the US 10 years ago after living in Poland, where she worked as a waitress but did not customarily get tips from customers. Her post led dozens of commenters from various countries around the world to share their experiences with tipping in their own countries, with many users in Europe saying they have never tipped their server at a coffee shop.

Other users on TikTok have shared stories about visiting the US and declining to tip or failing to realize that tips were an expectation, leading to awkward interactions with staff as a result.

One TikToker whose bio says she is based in London, where it is more common for venues to add a discretionary service charge onto the check instead of expecting tips, recalled a moment when a server at a bubble tea shop in New Jersey completely changed his demeanor towards her and became unfriendly after she declined to tip during the checkout process.

"Tipping culture in America is awful," she captioned her post.

Another British TikToker posted a video in January with a story about visiting a busy bar in New York. After ordering a couple of drinks and having a short conversation with the bartender before paying, the TikToker said she was confronted about the fact that she didn't leave a tip.

"She was like, we live off tips, you need to tip. This is America," the TikToker said, re-enacting the bartender's response.

"I cannot see how they can justify that, but there we are. That's tipping culture in America where they are entitled," said the British TikToker, who explained that she thought it did not make sense for the staff to expect a tip from every single one of the hundreds of customers in the crowded venue, particularly because she thought the act of making the drinks did not take a huge amount of effort.

The video received a mixed response, as some users said that they felt the tipping culture in America was too extreme, while others defended bartenders and serving staff for asking for tips, due to the fact that many venues still pay workers a "tipped wage," which is a lower minimum wage that's intended to take tips into account.

According to the US Department of Labor, workers who receive tips can be paid as little as $2.13 an hour, even though the federal minimum wage is $7.25.

Some American TikTokers have been using the app to explain the necessity of tipping to visitors and people who are new to the US, based on how the government deals with pay in the hospitality sector.

Tipping etiquette is an explosively controversial subject on TikTok. Some US-based creators have recently come forward to complain that they think cultural expectations around tipping are getting out of hand.

In May, one user said that a Ben & Jerry's cashier got annoyed that she didn't tip for a $2 cone, saying she was exasperated by the concept of tipping for such a small item, describing the server's task of preparing the ice cream and handing it to her as a "transaction" rather than "an act of service" that would warrant a tip.

The video received over 670,000 likes from users who appeared to agree, but once again, cultural norms came into play. "As a Brit, I find the tipping culture in America wild," one top comment read, prompting 47 replies as people discussed the issue. It seems US tipping culture discourse is going nowhere.