Sophia Money-Coutts: What’s the deal with tipping these days, given that literally everything has become more expensive?

If you’re an American and reading this, move on. You guys are confident and generous enough when it comes to tipping. You have no need for help. Unfortunately, we Brits are, generally, less comfortable with the practice. To us, tipping — whether it’s after a haircut, a day’s shooting or a week on a superyacht — is a distressing experience which we try to manage as quickly as possible. Brits will palm someone a note or an envelope, stutter thanks, then largely turn and flee. Urgh, money. How revolting. How desperately vulgar.

Tipping can feel even more fraught, these days, given that the price of basically everything has leapt up and many are feeling the pinch. VAT on school fees and a tenner to your hairdresser? You’re not Jeff Bezos!

Obviously, in most places, tipping is optional. You don’t have to pay a service charge in a restaurant, you don’t have to tip your pedicurist. But it’s also still largely de rigeur unless you’ve had a truly abysmal experience. And in recent years, certain restaurants have made it very clear that tips are passed on to the staff, so it’s best not to be stingy and lop the service off the bill unless a waiter has dropped something scalding into your lap.

Also, is there anything more excruciating than asking for the service charge to be removed? After a very poor experience on the Southbank recently, friends and I debated this question, and the bravest among us volunteered to ask the waiter to remove it while the rest of us cowered in our seats. But it had been a very bad dinner, so I admired my friend for taking a stand. Otherwise, cough up.

When it comes to beauty appointments, it’s mean not to pay any tip at all if they’ve touched your feet or another more disgusting body party. With the disappearance of cash in recent years, it’s become easy to simply pay the stated amount for nails or waxing or hair and claim you don’t have any coins on you. ‘Can I add a tip on my card?’ is a question I’ve fallen back on several times.

Except now various places, including my hairdresser, have made it easier, with card machines that ask whether you wish to pay 5%, 10% or 15% on top as you settle the bill. If you’ve just had an expensive three-hour colour treatment for a few hundred quid, spending even more may feel painful. Either hit 5% or remember to go to the cash point and take a tenner out before getting there, then quietly hand that over. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount. Anything at all these days is appreciated, a stylist friend tells me. A pound or two for Deliveroo drivers is, I reckon, a kindness too. Everyone’s fighting rising costs, after all.

A tip on the bedside table is also still expected by certain sorts if you go to stay with them for a night or more. Certainly if you’re staying with someone aged 50 or over, and perhaps by younger pals if they’re traditional sorts. If they live in the sticks, make sure you have cash on you before arriving. Staying in Guernsey a month or so ago, I forgot to visit the ATM in advance and subsequently got up at 6am on the final morning to walk to the nearest petrol station and back before breakfast — a journey of eight miles, simply to save face. But at least I’ll be invited back.

In short, even in these straightened times, tipping remains a generous and decent thing to do. Every little counts, and all that. Just do plan ahead if you’re off to the country.