Tipping culture does indeed appear to be shifting in Sweden – at least according to our reader survey – with a clear majority of respondents telling us that they feel rules on tipp…

Tipping culture does indeed appear to be shifting in Sweden – at least according to our reader survey – with a clear majority of respondents telling us that they feel rules on tipping are either definitely or possibly changing. 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."