There are serious discrepancies in tipping etiquette from country to country. Countries seeped in western capitalist dogma seem to be very much pro-tipping, the USA in particular, where you are expected to tip absolutely everybody and in fact it is very difficult to walk down the street without random people thrusting dollar notes at you. In countries where the workers actually get paid the practise is less prevalent.

However I think there is a need for a set of international guidelines based on my personal ‘reverse tipping system’. It’s very simple – if someone provides a service above the call of duty you can bung them 10- 15%, but if they do a bad job they have to give you a discount of the same amount. And if they do a really bad job, punch them in the face.