All of this brings us to the Tipping Curve. If servers expect a generous gratuity, there is a strong economic incentive for them to do superior work. And if they expect nothing at all, good service is taken completely out of the economic context and becomes a matter of custom. But when countries try to split the difference or if they introduce confusing rules into the system, their servers are more likely to leave customers dissatisfied.
Three African countries are included in Silver’s analysis, South Africa (which did quite well at 8th, one spot behind the United States), Morocco (a respectable 11th), and Egypt (a not-so-strong 21st). I was pleasantly surprised by South Africa, which I think has always had a reputation for providing indifferent service that I have always found both inaccurate and unfair.