IN THE PAST, I have tipped people despite not being satisfied with the service.

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I have encouraged taxi drivers to keep the change even though I spent the entire trip directing them with the help of my phone on a journey I was completely unfamiliar with, but had naively expected the person I was paying to know.

I have followed a stylist back through a salon in order to press a fiver into her hand despite the fact I would rather have died than shown my face in public after the butchering I had just endured.

And I have reluctantly left a tip on a restaurant table even though the food was definitely not up to scratch and the service was sub-par.

Hell, I have even tipped after a waitress told me she hated me.

The older I have gotten, the less likely I am to do this.

I will only tip if I’m genuinely happy with the service, or at the least, not actively unhappy.

If I think I would have been quicker walking, I’ll wait for my change before getting out of a taxi. If I’m not happy with my appearance when I’m whizzed around to face my reflection in a salon, I’ll sidestep the tipping process, and the same goes for eating out.

And yet, it still kills me not to tip.

I mean, it’s those few moments when I’m certain they’re expecting one, and I decide not to provide one that pushes me close to tipping point.

But, to be honest, I’d rather endure those few moments of discomfort than hand over extra money for a service I genuinely think fell short.

Simply put, I will happily tip (and tip well) if I think it’s deserved, but I no longer give someone a bonus when I know I’m going to spend the rest of my evening bitching and moaning about them.

This is, and will probably remain, a divisive topic, but where do you stand on it?

What’s your game plan when it comes to tipping?

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