The Cut sparks debate with new etiquette rules including requirements for ... trends now
New Yorkers have reacted with fury to a new etiquette guide that sets out expected rules for tipping - including 25 per cent at restaurants and 20 per cent at coffee shops, coffee carts and even bodegas.
The 140 etiquette rules, published in New York Magazine's The Cut - which infamously published an interview with Meghan Markle in September - are intended as a guide on how to deal 'politely' with social situations.
The magazine asks readers 'Do you know how to behave? Are you sure?' - with sections covering friends and lovers, strangers, going out and staying in, tipping, work, the City, parenting and texting.
The rules were put together by asking people about situations that typically put them on edge - and as a result the writers came up with 'rigid, but not entirely inflexible rules'.
The tip guidance section in particular prompted controversy, with one Twitter user calling the rules 'baffling' and another saying they were a 'joke' - while a third said they had been put off tipping completely.
The tip guidance section in particular prompted controversy, with one Twitter user calling the rules 'baffling' and another saying they were a 'joke'
From a new expectation of a 25 per cent tip at restaurants to a 10 per cent tip when picking up a takeaway, the new rules caused a debate with New York residents.
At restaurants, the guide begins, people should be tipping 20 to 25 per cent 'whether you liked the service or not'.
It adds that anything under 20 per cent is rude and that, if you have more disposable income, you should be tipping more.
For coffee shops, coffee carts, cafes and bodegas, customers should tip at least 20 per cent due to the 'tense environment' and 'complicated orders', the magazine says. For bottled water says it is 'acceptable' but 'miserly' to not give a tip.
One more surprising item on the list is the 10 per cent tip requirement when picking up a takeaway.
This is because, even when picking up the food yourself instead of getting a delivery, the order will still 'interrupt the flow of the other work' from which staff could be collecting tips.
And you should not just be tipping for going out for meals and treats, the magazine alleges.
It says Uber drivers earn 'substantially less' in tips than taxi drivers - and so should be receiving at least 20 per cent.
For everything else, The Cut argues, you should be tipping '20 per cent minimum. And always more if you can.'
The magazine says rapidly changing US society - due to factors such as the pandemic and
