Wednesday 12 August 2015 10:16 am

Zut alors: Britons are the second-worst tippers (but we’re still better than the French)

Britons have woken up to an uncomfortable truth this morning: we're the second-stingiest tippers in the world, it turns out.

Or that's according to findings by Direct Line, whose tipping index showed (unsurprisingly) thank Yanks are the best, with 27 per cent of establishments suggesting they're the most generous, while Germans came second, with 21 per cent of the vote, and Russians came third, with 16 per cent.

Still, there's one achievement we can hold onto: we beat the French, who came lowest in the rankings, with 30 per cent of establishments rating them as the stingiest tippers. 21 per cent said Brits were the worst, while the nationality voted the the third-worst – Italians – were some distance away, with just 11 per cent of the vote.

The findings also suggested that the average tip received in bars and restaurants was 11 per cent, although in the most generous places – the US and Argentina – that rises to 13 per cent.

Meanwhile, Britons tend to tip about seven per cent, while 35 per cent of bars and restaurants said they don't tip anything at all.

But Tom Bishop, head of travel insurance at Direct Line, pointed out that it may be down to the fact those working in the service industry earn a relatively decent wage that we don't feel the need to tip.

"Our reserved nature and laws preventing employers using tips to top up salaries mean that there is not an established tipping culture in the UK," he said.

Then again, it could be down to good old British reserve.

"Many of us feel awkward and confused when it comes to tipping practices across the world."