Nice story, Graziella.

It might not persuade some of those who prefer to do things the American way, because it carries the presumption that Europeans have a sense of dignity, and we all know that not to be so.

I think following local tipping customs is the way to go, but keep in mind that in many smaller restaurants or cafes, you won't get a bill which clearly indicates whether a service charge is included or not -- you'll likely get a piece of paper with a scibbled price on it. In those cases, I always assume that the service charge is not included and end up tipping 10 or 15%.

Also, friends of mine that traveled to Budapest last year gave the waiter at the end of their meal a sum which was quite a bit higher than the bill and expected change. The waiter told them that he didn't have change and they were stuck paying the service charge as well as a substantial tip. Carry some small change with you in restaurants so you don't fall for this ruse.

Ditto for paying taxi cabs. It was not in Budapes but in Prague the airport taxi wanted to keep the equivalent of 100 dollars to pay a 15 dollar fare. Of course it was not true that he had no change. Finally my husband succedeed. I guess there are two sides to the coin, pride and honesty and plain dishonesty..

I think regarding tipping 10% is a universal amount to leave after a proper meal. Sometimes when I receive good service in Europe, I prefer to give the tip directly to the waiter or waitress. Otherwise I'm paranoid my gift will be absorbed by the restaurant.

http://www.travel--guide.org/Budapest