In the United States, tipping is a scam. It’s not generosity, it’s cultural blackmail. The customer pays the bill and is still forced to cover the waiter’s salary. Anyone who doesn’t tip is treated like a social criminal. This isn’t empathy, it’s legalized exploitation. The American system turns the act of tipping into an invisible tax.
In some Asian countries, the logic is the opposite. If a customer offers a tip, it’s seen as a bad sign. It means the employee didn’t do their job well, that the service was poorly delivered and needed compensation. Giving extra money isn’t read as empathy, but as criticism.
In Portugal, the reality is different. There is no tradition of tipping. When someone leaves a large tip, suspicion arises. The gesture isn’t seen as empathy, but as strange, suspicious, or even insulting. A man giving ten euros to a waitress, for example, can be read as cheap seduction, paternalism, or humiliation. There’s no innocent interpretation.
In tourist areas like Lisbon, Porto, or the Algarve, some workers have already learned how to exploit foreigners. They create subtle pressures: leaving the change on the table hoping the customer will “forget it,” making sour faces when they don’t get anything, or treating tourists differently to squeeze out more money. This is not part of Portuguese culture — it’s just opportunism adapted to the market.
To make things worse, in restaurants and cafés in major cities, most of the staff aren’t even Portuguese anymore. They’re underpaid foreigners who don’t speak Portuguese or English, no connection to the local culture. Service gets even worse: no communication, no care, no identity. In this scenario, tipping is completely absurd — extra money for minimal service from someone who doesn’t even try to understand the customer.
The problem is structural: the Portuguese model doesn’t link better service to greater reward. Tips don’t change behavior. They don’t create motivation, loyalty, or respect; they create mistrust and misinterpretation.
In Portugal, tipping is not an obligation, it’s not valued, and it’s not understood. Often it’s silently despised by those who receive it. What you pay already covers the service. Leaving more is entering a game with no return.
In the United States, tipping is abuse. In Portugal, it’s not worth it. And in some Asian countries, it can even be seen as an insult.
In the end, tips would only have real value if given from the heart — as a spontaneous gesture of empathy and genuine recognition of someone’s effort. Outside of that, they’re nothing more than cultural noise.
August 2025
This article is in English. Read the Portuguese version ⇒ Ler em português