For decades, customers in bars, cafés and restaurants in Sweden have not been expected to leave tips on the grounds that it is the responsibility of the establishment's owner to pay staff a living wage.

But that started to change two or three years ago when card readers in restaurants began to offer customers preset gratuity percentages, usually starting with five percent and going up to fifteen or twenty.

Duane Shepherd, a restaurant and bar owner based in Stockholm, said that he had witnessed the shift first hand.

"I can see for myself first hand that tipping culture is changing as Swedes are starting to leave tips," he wrote in response to our survey. "It wasn’t like this a few years' back. Customers are becoming more aware of great service and hence are leaving tips to reward staff for ensuring that they have had a great dining experience."

A respondent who recently arrived back in Sweden after first travelling to the country a decade ago, said the alteration in the intervening time had been striking.

"I first travelled to Sweden around ten years ago and then it was really simple: 'here it is not a tipping culture'," he said. "Now they force you to decide on a tip every time."

"With the introduction of the tipping options almost everywhere now, even at coffee shops when ordering take-away, I feel like I've started tipping more," agreed L, who did not leave their name. "I feel like the attitude to tips has changed. They are expected."

Elizabeth, from the US, also said that the expected tips in Sweden "seems to be creeping upwards".

'Shoved down your throat'

Not everyone viewed the change positively.

"I feel like the tipping culture is growing in Sweden and find it very annoying," said a Polish woman living in Gothenburg. "There is no reason for it."

Many respondents expressed irritation at the payment terminals which automatically ask you for a tip.

"With the disappearance of cash you get an expectation of tips shoved down your throat here in Sweden since you have to say how much you want to tip before paying. And you have to make an active choice of 'no tip'," Rickard wrote on a post on The Local's Facebook page.

"I don't feel comfortable with these changing rules especially those forced tipping options popping up on payment machines," said Kunal, an IT consultant and business owner based in Stockholm.

Not everyone saw the payment terminals as to blame, with others pointing the finger at the influence of social media and US culture in general.

"Tipping is expected as Swedish people have a syndrome of idolising Americans," complained Bilal Anis, on our Facebook page.

"The baristas are watching American TikToks," M Jake Davis added.

'Absolutely refuse'

Not all of those who sensed a change afoot were willing to comply, with some readers saying they were rejecting the expectation that they leave tips.

"There is no tipping culture in Sweden and we like it like that!!!" said Hamza Al Darawsheh.

"Absolutely refuse to do it, Sweden pays hospitality workers decent enough, as reflected in the prices of the product," said another anonymous respondent on Facebook.

"In Sweden, restaurant workers get a monthly salary. Therefore tipping is not necessary," agreed Sam Sung.

"I refuse and makes a point of complaining if the price of the menu does not equal the amount I have to pay," said Mattias Persson.

SB said she had observed that waiting staff themselves often pressed the ‘no tip’ button automatically, so that the customer was not faced with the awkwardness of choosing.

"If tipping becomes a bonafide practice in Sweden, restaurants will be able to justify lowering the wages. It is they who will win this game not the waiting staff," she said.

Emma said that while the staff at her business had asked for a tipping option, she was resisting adding the option to her payment terminals.

**So how much do people think you should pay and when? **

Readers certainly didn't think you should always tip.

Only two out of 32 respondents said they always tip, four that they frequently tipped, seven that they sometimes tipped and eleven that they rarely tip. Eight respondents said they never tipped under any circumstances.

A lot of respondents said that while they might tip at a higher end restaurant where service was part of the experience, they did not at ordinary bars or cafés.

"I tip based on service quality at my table. However, if I pick my order from the counter, I do not tip," said Kunal.

A reader calling himself Campbell Peacock gave four rules in a comment under our article:

"Rule #1. No tip if you are standing up ( I.E. buying a beer). Rule #2. Never use the preset suggestions. Rule #3. If you want to leave a tip, then use the button that allows you to insert your own number. Rule#4. Never go over 10%. No service is ever worth that."

"It's not obligatory," said John Round Partridge. "The usual amount is 5 to 10 percent if you are pleased. In simpler places you often give nothing at all and that's totally OK."

When it came to the amount people felt was a suitable tip, it was at a fairly low end, with 11 out of 32 respondents saying they tipped 5 percent, 15 saying they tipped 10 percent, and only one saying they tipped 15 percent.