If you come from USA or Canada, you are accustomed to leaving copious amounts of extra money for most basic services, such as restaurants, taxis, hairdressers, masseuses, porters and so on. Those not from North America could also benefit from reading on to see how ridiculous tipping habits can be.
Tipping at least 15% has been an American tradition due to the fact that waiters and bartenders in the USA often don’t get even a minimal wage, thus relying on tips for their income. Then it spread to any service that can be considered “luxury”: chambermaid, taxi driver, hairdresser, porter, and so on. It’s probably easier to name services for which Americans do not tip than otherwise. Tipping is so intertwined into American way of life that many travellers from the US (and Canada) automatically apply their tipping habits when traveling abroad.
That is a mistake. In most of the world, tipping is not required and is completely optional and based on the quality of the service provided. In some countries such as Japan or Taiwan, it is basically unheard of – most people do their jobs because they are proud of what they do, and they get paid well enough to do it, not because they expect an extra reward other than salary for their labour.
This is true in most European countries, too. It is perfectly fine to leave some change behind, maybe a Euro or two, on the table at a restaurant if you liked the service, but it is also perfectly fine not to. Use your judgment and if you feel generous and the service was good, do leave some tip, but don’t feel obliged to do so when traveling.
While I don’t deny generosity is a virtue, excessive tipping abroad will cause two malicious effects: service staff will assume that any kind of service will earn them that extra money and standards will fall. Secondly, because they will associate Americans with other Westerners, waiters and other people in service who had such an interaction will expect every foreigner to do the same, i.e. tip as much as Americans do at home.
There will be some cases in certain countries when a driver (a waiter, a guide, a masseuse) will ask, or even harass you for a tip for their service. Again, use your judgment: if you feel you have already paid plenty, and chances are you have, ignore their demands and pay as agreed upon beforehand. If an extra service has indeed been provided to you, do offer some reward for the efforts. If you end up in a situation that risks being escalated to uncomfortable, or even unsafe levels, then it is best to simply pay what you are being asked, or perhaps a compromise amount, leave the premises and never use their service again.
Always try to bee fair, but also don’t be a noob.