A generous tip can acknowledge a worker without purchasing the right to make them uncomfortable.

Money can recognise work and it cannot purchase a person’s ease. Those are different transactions, though they get confused constantly, and the confusion falls hardest on people who cannot leave the conversation because they are at work. A good tip says the labour was seen. It carries no claim on attention, patience, or the right to be personal.

Be generous and then let people get on with their shift. Say thank you, use their name if they offered it, and read whether they want to talk rather than assuming. Generosity with obligations attached is not really generosity.