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10th January 2024
11:56am GMT
A bride-to-be has sparked debate over whether it's okay to leave a tip at a bridal store.
Tipping is relatively common practice at restaurants here in the UK, but in the US it's a different level. Across the pond, tipping isn't just considered a nice gesture - it's taken as a given.
And a woman has now sparked debate after revealing that she didn't leave a tip when purchasing a wedding dress from a bridal store.
Sharing her story in a video on TikTok, Ina Josipović (@inajosipovic) said: "Can we talk about tipping culture and the weirdest place that you’ve ever been asked to tip really quick?
"I went shopping for my wedding dress a week and a half ago, and I ended up finding my dress at the first store that I went to.
"And I’m not joking, when I went to go pay, they flipped their little iPad around and asked for a tip.
"When I tell you I full on froze, I just… I stood there and I think they saw the blood leave my body."
She continued: "I did not expect to have to tip buying a wedding dress. So I just kind of stood there.
"And luckily, I speak a different language, and my best friend bought a wedding dress at a different store sometime last year, so in a different language I looked at her and I said, ‘Hey, did you tip when you bought your wedding dress?’
"And she was like, ‘No’. And then I was like, ‘Did they ask you to tip?’ And she said no."
Iva said she was left trying to work out how much of a tip she should give, explaining that it customers were not expected to leave tips when she worked in retail.
She also pointed out that an extra 10 per cent on a "$1,500, $2,000 dress" would be a pretty hefty addition to the bill..
Ina finished off by saying that tipping had got "kind of weird lately" and asked if any other brides had tipped when buying their dress.
Plenty of people took to the comments to give their thoughts on the matter.
One person wrote: "I literally have no shame just pressing no tip."
Another said: "The only people I tip is a waitress."
A third agreed that the "tipping culture in the US is out of control" but added that they are "always a good tipper at the hair and nail salons and restaurants."
Some people did offer some justification for tipping at a bridal store though, with one person commenting: "I am a bridal stylist and I agree 10 per cent is crazy for a tip. I will say though our appts are 2 hours long and we have to maintain energy and provide"
Someone else said: "Some Bridal shops don't do commission. And if they're carrying the dresses and helping you dress, it makes sense if they're helping you."
In an update to her followers, Ina revealed that she did actually tip after buying the dress.
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