I have been holidaying in the US for about 10 years now and one of the things that most impressed me has been the quality of service everywhere and when dining in particular. I am well aware of the 15 to 20% tipping guide and in general have followed this as a genuine respect for the quality of service and have always regarded it as part of the meal price that was optional should the service standards not been there.

However on my recent trip 2 things have stood out.

1. I was told by some english who claimed they were regulars as villa owners that these levels of tipping were rare and were certainly never matched by Americans. Basicaly just a tourist con. I don't go along with this and wondered what some of you think on the subject?

2. I was dismayed by what seemed a sudden increase of receiving a bill with the words "18% gratuity not included" "Sara :>)" or along those lines or bills with suggested tips printed on the bottom already calculated based on the size of the bill. This did miff me a bit and those places were not visited again and one of them was at the Outback and I love there. I even felt in some places the service dipped because we were English with a sudden change in attitude after we had paid with a tip.

I have to say we were staying on Marco Island and the eateries were quite quiet, never before have we been able to walk in and sit down without a wait at the Cheesecake Factory. I feel like going back next year wearing a T shirt with the words "yes we are English but we still tip for good service" printed on the front.