Thank you for writing this. As a 53-year-old career waitress who prides myself on delivering actual, old-school hospitality, your post hit home on so many levels.
I actually owned a small restaurant before taking my current job, so I see this from both sides of the pass. The reality is that there was absolutely no way for a small business like mine to pay servers a "living wage" hourly without going underāwe were already struggling just to keep the lights on. And frankly, excellent servers don't want a flat hourly wage anyway. Tipping is far more lucrative, but it only works when it's done correctly.
Whenever a guest apologizes to me for making "too many requests," I always stop them and say, "I am your servant for the duration of your mealāplease ask for absolutely everything you need." True service is about anticipating needs, being gracious, and earning that gratuity through genuine care.
Thatās why it completely crushes me to see whatās happening with these 20-something-year-olds giving horrible service. Seeing counter-service joints and "meat robots" demand 20% to 30% tips for handing over a bagāand then telling a customer to get their own ketchupāis incredibly frustrating. It completely cheapens the hard work and artistry that dedicated tableside servers put into every single shift. Itās exactly why the scales have broken.
The system is broken on both ends, and like you, I worry about the standard of care and courtesy we're teaching the next generation. Thank you for speaking up so boldly and for refusing to let it slide.
Thank you for sharing your hard earned experience, Allie. I agree with you. I especially love what you wrote here, āIt completely cheapens the hard work and artistry that dedicated tableside servers put into every single shift. Itās exactly why the scales have broken.ā We donāt too often consider service as an artistry, but it absolutely is!!
Bless you for all the hard work you do in service to restaurants and people (I saw read that youāre a caregiver- not easy work.)
Thank you, Sage! I love that you highlighted the artistry of service, it truly is a craft. Your kind words about the caregiving journey mean more than you know.
Tipping is right when it is right. My heart knows. It is so exaggerated when it is so exaggerated. My heart makes a choice to say no and does not doubt. Italy has given me a healthier perspective and going back to the States on visits is always a clearer view of the absurdities. Oh and this - tipping does not mean you are a good or better human. Tipping is not always a sign of loving kindness. Tipping is not a core value when core values are not added.
There are several good thoughts here, including in the comments. I have worked in hospitality in the US, putting myself through college as an adult, and I feel very strongly about tipping here because I donāt think the typical restaurant model allows for enough money to be made for the business or the staff.
I havenāt been in a lot of places with counter service, except when we are traveling, and a lot of them didnāt even have tip jars out.
One of my closest friends is from the UK and lived with me for a few years. She would always say that the tips were terrible in England, but thatās because the service was terrible in England. Iāve traveled through England a few times, but not stayed there so I canāt speak to it.
After Covid here in Saint Petersburg, restaurants couldnāt afford to pay people what they were worth, and people left and found work in other industries and restaurants had to close. Itās just not a good formula.
To be honest, I donāt recall feeling one way or the other in my travels through Europe or South America. I know in Copenhagen everything was expensive but everything was worth it. I canāt remember our experiences in the other countries at the moment.
Right now in the US I think the business model needs an overhaul, whatever that might be.
In the US, particularly when I was well-employed, I made it a habit to tip well for actual (that is, table) service. I too resent the new paradigm where tipping has become expected even for counter service. Now that weāre traveling in the EU, Iāve researched the tipping culture as weāve moved through different countries. I appreciate not being expected to tip for every little thing; itās particularly helpful when weāve just arrived in a country and donāt yet have any of the local currency! Right now I try to keep a few euros/pounds in my pocket, but Iām slowly training myself to not feel horribly guilty if I donāt tip a taxi driver or server when I donāt have the small change to do so.
Yes, exactly, Arenosa! I feel the same. Thank you for adding to the conversation. Please remind me of the country youāre currently in and where you are headed to next!
That makes happy to know. Yes, keep encouraging him. Making all the decisions when traveling is like trying to fold a fitted sheet by yourself; itās possible but itās not easy. Please keep sharing on whatsappā Gracie and I need a place to stay for August and we are still looking. Iām feeling drawn to Greece.
Edinburgh is fascinating, and I wouldnāt mind coming back and seeing more. That said, itās an expensive city for accommodations and restaurants. The people have been amazing and very helpful. The weather is a relief from the heat in Portugal, and weāre glad we brought rain jackets, merino wool, and lightweight cardigans. Itās been a bit rainy.
Ahh, yes, I feared the high costs. I do hope to visit with a purpose. Perhaps to perform in the festival. Iām excited for you. I should have sublet you the place we have in England for the month of August. Have you secured all your August plans?
We havenāt even secured all our July plans, let alone August! Don is starting to make noises about wanting to go certain places, and Iām encouraging him as much as possible (because getting him to actually identify someplace HE wants to go, instead of just going along with my agenda, is like pulling teeth).
brilliance in a written piece! i agree with it all! last week through Paris for a couple nights before I headed home, I just popped into the restaurant next to the hotel and it was indeed in Paris. The waiter brought a special dish and said it kind of near the top of my spoon. He looked at me and pointed to the bottom of it and said for tip. I refuse to knowledge it. Ultimately, I did tip because I was right next to to the restaurant and knew I would probably use it again as food was not by experience to enjoy, but rather just something to get me through to the next day at that point. And I didnāt want him to ask the lady fear in your peace, spit in my food. I look people in the eye were there speaking to me. I give a genuine and specific compliment. I believe these things are powerful. Tippy has gotten out of hand. Iām tired of having a waiter extend a cable connected device with a screen showing the percent of. Tip Iād like to choose. That is the rudest thing Iāve ever seen. I will probably hit zero and smile and lick the waiter in the eye, or the cashier usually and say a tip after service. And smile. Itās gotten crazy I with you, sage!
Thank you, Pamela. Yes, thatās wild! And theyāve done the math on some of those tipping machines that may be labeled as 20% actually are more like 30%.
If I had all the money in the world- Iād give generously to all people in the service industry- perhaps even regardless of service- because I know they need itā but at some point we have to go back to standards and reason.
I agree with you- while a kind word canāt cover the bills it will live rent free in their heads forever.
Ummm and ā¦ did you say you were in Paris last week?
Most of Europe also has universal health care, so that cost isnāt put on employers. Itās almost impossible for small, independent restaurants to offer health care to their employees without passing the cost to the guest - because the system is rigged, like everything else if you donāt have deep pockets.
Also, tech companies and banks get rich from many of the things restaurants are forced to offer for āconvenience.ā
Letās start with the tap and swipe to pay. Did you know it costs the business anywhere from 2-5% (sometimes more) for any transaction, including refunds? That adds up quick, and itās just one of the many fees on premise is getting charged, daily.
Also, the retail tax you pay on transactions in the states, doesnāt stay with the business - it goes straight to local government every month. But no one factors that out with the cost of going out.
Also, price per square footage being charged by most landlords is beyond outrageous and predatory. And while thatās a whole other topic, it does factor into the cost to stay open.
Everyone deserves a living wage, and employers are absolutely responsible for part of the equation. But we need equitable distribution of wealth in food service, and proper government representation just like everything else - because mom and pop shops are being asked to carry the same, sometimes more of the weight of responsibility than a McDonaldās and Starbucks, with their big tax breaks.
Iāve been on every side of the hospitality business for three decades, and I get annoyed at the ridiculous tipping requests. But we have to hold the corporations and government accountable in their role to how we got here.
We all need these spaces and our community within them - which requires us to be apart of the village and understand the cost of doing business is often so much more than we see on the surface.
Thank you for sharing. Those are all excellent points, Liz!
Thank you for reminding people of all the corrupt layers and inequities American businesses face. I agree.
Itās another case in point of how the American Dream has died. Itās impossible to compete against big business, the tech industry, the tax breaks of the mega rich.
In my book, FREEDOM, I write about how America has become the land for the billionaire corporations, by the billionaire corporations, and of the billionaire corporations. The people who run small businesses are being forgotten- as are the people who frequent them.
Youāre also right, however, that many European countries pay more in taxes- some as high as 50-70% in order to have affordable or free healthcare, education, and to pay employees a living wage and allow their citizens to have vacations.
As a nomad- I also incur those 3% tap fees on top of a vat tax.
I believe the 250 year old experiment that was America has ended. My prayer is that it will be rebuilt in a more similar fashion to the countries that have figured out how to best take care of their citizens.
Sage, reading this, I realize how fundamentally different our cultures are when it comes to tipping.
In Germany, service is already included in the price. There is no additional service charge, and employers are expected to pay wages rather than shifting that responsibility onto customers. Tipping is simply a voluntary thank-you for good service.
The normal range is about 5ā10% in a restaurant. If the service was merely okay, 5% is perfectly fine. If it was very good, around 10% is common. Around 15% would already be considered exceptionally generous, and it is also completely acceptable not to tip at all.
Beyond that, tipping is very limited. I tip my hairdresser. I tip my Thai massage therapistāusually ā¬3 on a ā¬42 treatment. Thatās about it. We donāt have tipping jars everywhere, and we certainly donāt expect to be asked for a tip every time we buy something.
Thatās why prompts asking for 30%, 40%, or even 50% feel completely detached from my cultural reality. I would simply decline. To me, paying half of what I earn in an hour as a tip for a single transaction makes no sense, especially when the person providing the service is already guaranteed a legal minimum wage.
I also have to live within my own means. Even a ā¬3 tip represents five or six days of cat food for my cat. So generosity has to remain proportionate to what I can realistically afford.
Neither system is universal. They simply reflect two very different ideas about who should be responsible for paying service workers: the employer or the customer.
Thank you, Jay! I love having a global comment section so that we can learn from each other.
First, I have to say, if I could feed a cat for ā¬3 a week- I might be able to have a cat again, someday. When I last had a pet their food and medical bills were well over $100 per week.
I was raised with pets and had animal companions my entire life until my child was born. Prior to that I had two dogs with medical conditions that I had to pay a monthly insurance bill for on top of their daily medications and regular vet visits. Over the course of their lives we spent hundreds. I have friends who spend thousands of dollars on medical surgeries for their beloved pets.
Our dogs food was nearly as expensive as our when we were on our tightest budget. By the time our daughter was born, we knew we couldnāt afford to have pets unless we became wealthy. We couldnāt afford our own monthly health insurance let alone animal health insurance.
When our daughter was born, we went to in-network doctors but I was of āadvanced maternal ageā and had to see many specialists. Insurance only covered 80%. Before we could take our daughter home from the hospital we had to agree to a payment plan of $60,000 (the 20% our $3,000 per month insurance didnāt cover).
There are so many ways in which America has bled their citizens dry.
I agree with the tipping practices in Germany. I also greatly appreciate the countries that have so much pride in their work that they refuse tips. When the country takes care of its citizen, and the citizens take care of the businesses- those who keep those businesses afloat donāt have to do so at the risk of drowning.
Thanks for being here and contributing to the conversation. I really appreciate you.š«
Sage, $100 is roughly what Monty and I live on for two weeks for our basic day-to-day expenses. My first thought was, āWas gold added to the pet food?ā
Of course, veterinary treatment costs money here too. When Monty needed surgery for his broken ankle, his operations came to about ā¬3,000, and they were absolutely worth it. Routine care is much more affordable. His flea and tick spot-on costs me about ā¬15 for three months if I buy it myself. The same treatment from the vet would cost around ā¬75, so I administer it myself.
What surprised me most in your comment wasnāt the medical treatmentāit was how normal pet insurance and such high ongoing costs seem to have become in the U.S. None of the cats or dogs in my family since 1967 has ever been insured. Excluding Montyās ankle surgeries, I doubt our familyās total veterinary bills over nearly six decades would have exceeded ā¬2,000.
Reading your comment, together with countless similar stories from other Americans over the years, I canāt help noticing a broader pattern. Whether it is healthcare, higher education, childcare, housing, or now veterinary care, many essential parts of life seem to have become extraordinarily expensive. From a German perspective, that feels less like a series of isolated markets and more like a system in which ordinary people are expected to shoulder costs that would be shared differently here.
I also notice parts of that model gradually being marketed in Europe, often presented as inevitable. Personally, I hope we resist that. I much prefer a system where essential careāfor people and for animalsāremains broadly affordable without requiring another insurance policy.
Sage,
Thank you for writing this. As a 53-year-old career waitress who prides myself on delivering actual, old-school hospitality, your post hit home on so many levels.
I actually owned a small restaurant before taking my current job, so I see this from both sides of the pass. The reality is that there was absolutely no way for a small business like mine to pay servers a "living wage" hourly without going underāwe were already struggling just to keep the lights on. And frankly, excellent servers don't want a flat hourly wage anyway. Tipping is far more lucrative, but it only works when it's done correctly.
Whenever a guest apologizes to me for making "too many requests," I always stop them and say, "I am your servant for the duration of your mealāplease ask for absolutely everything you need." True service is about anticipating needs, being gracious, and earning that gratuity through genuine care.
Thatās why it completely crushes me to see whatās happening with these 20-something-year-olds giving horrible service. Seeing counter-service joints and "meat robots" demand 20% to 30% tips for handing over a bagāand then telling a customer to get their own ketchupāis incredibly frustrating. It completely cheapens the hard work and artistry that dedicated tableside servers put into every single shift. Itās exactly why the scales have broken.
The system is broken on both ends, and like you, I worry about the standard of care and courtesy we're teaching the next generation. Thank you for speaking up so boldly and for refusing to let it slide.
Thank you for sharing your hard earned experience, Allie. I agree with you. I especially love what you wrote here, āIt completely cheapens the hard work and artistry that dedicated tableside servers put into every single shift. Itās exactly why the scales have broken.ā We donāt too often consider service as an artistry, but it absolutely is!!
Bless you for all the hard work you do in service to restaurants and people (I saw read that youāre a caregiver- not easy work.)
š«
Thank you, Sage! I love that you highlighted the artistry of service, it truly is a craft. Your kind words about the caregiving journey mean more than you know.
Beautifully said, Allie
Thank you
Tipping is right when it is right. My heart knows. It is so exaggerated when it is so exaggerated. My heart makes a choice to say no and does not doubt. Italy has given me a healthier perspective and going back to the States on visits is always a clearer view of the absurdities. Oh and this - tipping does not mean you are a good or better human. Tipping is not always a sign of loving kindness. Tipping is not a core value when core values are not added.
āTipping is not a core value when core values are not added.ā You said it, sister!!šš½šš½šš½
There are several good thoughts here, including in the comments. I have worked in hospitality in the US, putting myself through college as an adult, and I feel very strongly about tipping here because I donāt think the typical restaurant model allows for enough money to be made for the business or the staff.
I havenāt been in a lot of places with counter service, except when we are traveling, and a lot of them didnāt even have tip jars out.
One of my closest friends is from the UK and lived with me for a few years. She would always say that the tips were terrible in England, but thatās because the service was terrible in England. Iāve traveled through England a few times, but not stayed there so I canāt speak to it.
After Covid here in Saint Petersburg, restaurants couldnāt afford to pay people what they were worth, and people left and found work in other industries and restaurants had to close. Itās just not a good formula.
To be honest, I donāt recall feeling one way or the other in my travels through Europe or South America. I know in Copenhagen everything was expensive but everything was worth it. I canāt remember our experiences in the other countries at the moment.
Right now in the US I think the business model needs an overhaul, whatever that might be.
Yes, Susan, I agree, the American business model is in great need of an overhaul!
Exactly -- the US business model needs an overhaul. I couldn't have said that better.
In the US, particularly when I was well-employed, I made it a habit to tip well for actual (that is, table) service. I too resent the new paradigm where tipping has become expected even for counter service. Now that weāre traveling in the EU, Iāve researched the tipping culture as weāve moved through different countries. I appreciate not being expected to tip for every little thing; itās particularly helpful when weāve just arrived in a country and donāt yet have any of the local currency! Right now I try to keep a few euros/pounds in my pocket, but Iām slowly training myself to not feel horribly guilty if I donāt tip a taxi driver or server when I donāt have the small change to do so.
Yes, exactly, Arenosa! I feel the same. Thank you for adding to the conversation. Please remind me of the country youāre currently in and where you are headed to next!
Weāre in Scotland now! Weāve spent a few days in Edinburgh and will be heading to Stirling tomorrow.
That makes happy to know. Yes, keep encouraging him. Making all the decisions when traveling is like trying to fold a fitted sheet by yourself; itās possible but itās not easy. Please keep sharing on whatsappā Gracie and I need a place to stay for August and we are still looking. Iām feeling drawn to Greece.
You just took my breath away. Gosh I want to go there. Looking forward to your opinion of it and prices, weather, people, etc. xoxo
Edinburgh is fascinating, and I wouldnāt mind coming back and seeing more. That said, itās an expensive city for accommodations and restaurants. The people have been amazing and very helpful. The weather is a relief from the heat in Portugal, and weāre glad we brought rain jackets, merino wool, and lightweight cardigans. Itās been a bit rainy.
Ahh, yes, I feared the high costs. I do hope to visit with a purpose. Perhaps to perform in the festival. Iām excited for you. I should have sublet you the place we have in England for the month of August. Have you secured all your August plans?
We havenāt even secured all our July plans, let alone August! Don is starting to make noises about wanting to go certain places, and Iām encouraging him as much as possible (because getting him to actually identify someplace HE wants to go, instead of just going along with my agenda, is like pulling teeth).
I couldnāt agree more with all of this, Sage.
Thank you, dear Katherine. Itās crazy, right?
I agree with you - tipping is right when it feels right. You express this beautifully!
Thanks, Karen.
brilliance in a written piece! i agree with it all! last week through Paris for a couple nights before I headed home, I just popped into the restaurant next to the hotel and it was indeed in Paris. The waiter brought a special dish and said it kind of near the top of my spoon. He looked at me and pointed to the bottom of it and said for tip. I refuse to knowledge it. Ultimately, I did tip because I was right next to to the restaurant and knew I would probably use it again as food was not by experience to enjoy, but rather just something to get me through to the next day at that point. And I didnāt want him to ask the lady fear in your peace, spit in my food. I look people in the eye were there speaking to me. I give a genuine and specific compliment. I believe these things are powerful. Tippy has gotten out of hand. Iām tired of having a waiter extend a cable connected device with a screen showing the percent of. Tip Iād like to choose. That is the rudest thing Iāve ever seen. I will probably hit zero and smile and lick the waiter in the eye, or the cashier usually and say a tip after service. And smile. Itās gotten crazy I with you, sage!
Thank you, Pamela. Yes, thatās wild! And theyāve done the math on some of those tipping machines that may be labeled as 20% actually are more like 30%.
If I had all the money in the world- Iād give generously to all people in the service industry- perhaps even regardless of service- because I know they need itā but at some point we have to go back to standards and reason.
I agree with you- while a kind word canāt cover the bills it will live rent free in their heads forever.
Ummm and ā¦ did you say you were in Paris last week?
Xoxox
First, I agree with you, that the request to tip is out of control. And with so much respect, this topic is extremely complex and more than just āmake the restaurants and cafĆ©s pay their employees a living wage.ā
Most of Europe also has universal health care, so that cost isnāt put on employers. Itās almost impossible for small, independent restaurants to offer health care to their employees without passing the cost to the guest - because the system is rigged, like everything else if you donāt have deep pockets.
Also, tech companies and banks get rich from many of the things restaurants are forced to offer for āconvenience.ā
Letās start with the tap and swipe to pay. Did you know it costs the business anywhere from 2-5% (sometimes more) for any transaction, including refunds? That adds up quick, and itās just one of the many fees on premise is getting charged, daily.
Also, the retail tax you pay on transactions in the states, doesnāt stay with the business - it goes straight to local government every month. But no one factors that out with the cost of going out.
Also, price per square footage being charged by most landlords is beyond outrageous and predatory. And while thatās a whole other topic, it does factor into the cost to stay open.
Everyone deserves a living wage, and employers are absolutely responsible for part of the equation. But we need equitable distribution of wealth in food service, and proper government representation just like everything else - because mom and pop shops are being asked to carry the same, sometimes more of the weight of responsibility than a McDonaldās and Starbucks, with their big tax breaks.
Iāve been on every side of the hospitality business for three decades, and I get annoyed at the ridiculous tipping requests. But we have to hold the corporations and government accountable in their role to how we got here.
We all need these spaces and our community within them - which requires us to be apart of the village and understand the cost of doing business is often so much more than we see on the surface.
Thank you for sharing. Those are all excellent points, Liz!
Thank you for reminding people of all the corrupt layers and inequities American businesses face. I agree.
Itās another case in point of how the American Dream has died. Itās impossible to compete against big business, the tech industry, the tax breaks of the mega rich.
In my book, FREEDOM, I write about how America has become the land for the billionaire corporations, by the billionaire corporations, and of the billionaire corporations. The people who run small businesses are being forgotten- as are the people who frequent them.
Youāre also right, however, that many European countries pay more in taxes- some as high as 50-70% in order to have affordable or free healthcare, education, and to pay employees a living wage and allow their citizens to have vacations.
As a nomad- I also incur those 3% tap fees on top of a vat tax.
I believe the 250 year old experiment that was America has ended. My prayer is that it will be rebuilt in a more similar fashion to the countries that have figured out how to best take care of their citizens.
I appreciate you being here.
Sage, reading this, I realize how fundamentally different our cultures are when it comes to tipping.
In Germany, service is already included in the price. There is no additional service charge, and employers are expected to pay wages rather than shifting that responsibility onto customers. Tipping is simply a voluntary thank-you for good service.
The normal range is about 5ā10% in a restaurant. If the service was merely okay, 5% is perfectly fine. If it was very good, around 10% is common. Around 15% would already be considered exceptionally generous, and it is also completely acceptable not to tip at all.
Beyond that, tipping is very limited. I tip my hairdresser. I tip my Thai massage therapistāusually ā¬3 on a ā¬42 treatment. Thatās about it. We donāt have tipping jars everywhere, and we certainly donāt expect to be asked for a tip every time we buy something.
Thatās why prompts asking for 30%, 40%, or even 50% feel completely detached from my cultural reality. I would simply decline. To me, paying half of what I earn in an hour as a tip for a single transaction makes no sense, especially when the person providing the service is already guaranteed a legal minimum wage.
I also have to live within my own means. Even a ā¬3 tip represents five or six days of cat food for my cat. So generosity has to remain proportionate to what I can realistically afford.
Neither system is universal. They simply reflect two very different ideas about who should be responsible for paying service workers: the employer or the customer.
Thank you, Jay! I love having a global comment section so that we can learn from each other.
First, I have to say, if I could feed a cat for ā¬3 a week- I might be able to have a cat again, someday. When I last had a pet their food and medical bills were well over $100 per week.
I was raised with pets and had animal companions my entire life until my child was born. Prior to that I had two dogs with medical conditions that I had to pay a monthly insurance bill for on top of their daily medications and regular vet visits. Over the course of their lives we spent hundreds. I have friends who spend thousands of dollars on medical surgeries for their beloved pets.
Our dogs food was nearly as expensive as our when we were on our tightest budget. By the time our daughter was born, we knew we couldnāt afford to have pets unless we became wealthy. We couldnāt afford our own monthly health insurance let alone animal health insurance.
When our daughter was born, we went to in-network doctors but I was of āadvanced maternal ageā and had to see many specialists. Insurance only covered 80%. Before we could take our daughter home from the hospital we had to agree to a payment plan of $60,000 (the 20% our $3,000 per month insurance didnāt cover).
There are so many ways in which America has bled their citizens dry.
I agree with the tipping practices in Germany. I also greatly appreciate the countries that have so much pride in their work that they refuse tips. When the country takes care of its citizen, and the citizens take care of the businesses- those who keep those businesses afloat donāt have to do so at the risk of drowning.
Thanks for being here and contributing to the conversation. I really appreciate you.š«
Sage, $100 is roughly what Monty and I live on for two weeks for our basic day-to-day expenses. My first thought was, āWas gold added to the pet food?ā
Of course, veterinary treatment costs money here too. When Monty needed surgery for his broken ankle, his operations came to about ā¬3,000, and they were absolutely worth it. Routine care is much more affordable. His flea and tick spot-on costs me about ā¬15 for three months if I buy it myself. The same treatment from the vet would cost around ā¬75, so I administer it myself.
What surprised me most in your comment wasnāt the medical treatmentāit was how normal pet insurance and such high ongoing costs seem to have become in the U.S. None of the cats or dogs in my family since 1967 has ever been insured. Excluding Montyās ankle surgeries, I doubt our familyās total veterinary bills over nearly six decades would have exceeded ā¬2,000.
Reading your comment, together with countless similar stories from other Americans over the years, I canāt help noticing a broader pattern. Whether it is healthcare, higher education, childcare, housing, or now veterinary care, many essential parts of life seem to have become extraordinarily expensive. From a German perspective, that feels less like a series of isolated markets and more like a system in which ordinary people are expected to shoulder costs that would be shared differently here.
I also notice parts of that model gradually being marketed in Europe, often presented as inevitable. Personally, I hope we resist that. I much prefer a system where essential careāfor people and for animalsāremains broadly affordable without requiring another insurance policy.
Yes, Susan, I agree, the American business model is in great need of an overhaul! Thank you for sharing your experience, itās valuable.