I was out with my husband, having coffee, and when we got to the till, there was a little sign. It said “which do you prefer? Girl or boy?” and an arrow from each pointing to two tip jars. For some reason, this really niggled me. Tips according to your gender? Really?

When we sat down with our drinks, I mentioned this to my husband, who said it was a marketing approach. Apparently people will give more often if posed a forced question, presumably because you have to engage with the idea of giving a tip if you think about the question.

However, this simply doesn’t work for me. I will tip according to the level of service I receive, from male or female. If the waiting staff tip a large glass of white wine all over me and into my handbag (and I wasn’t even drinking that night!) but then doesn’t offer even a free coffee as compensation, then there will be no tip.