Shoe Repair by Israilkha

The shoe shine was adequate. I walked in wearing a pair of knee-​high boots and asked how much a shine would be, stating that I didn’t have much cash on me. He quoted me $ 7 (pointing to the price sheet affixed to the wall: ‘Boots $ 5, High Boots: $ 6-​$ 7′) and told me I could use a credit card. I volunteered to take them off to make it easier and waited in my stockinged feet while he took them back behind the counter. This is when I ran into some trouble and decided that I will not be returning. He rang me up, gestured to my card, and asked me how much of a tip I wanted to leave. I went for my purse to fish out some cash and then stopped myself: «Did he just tell me to leave a tip? Shouldn’t that be left to the customer’s discretion?» I told him that I wasn’t going to leave a tip. He got irritated and asked me, «Are you American or African?» (I didn’t answer). «This is America. Americans leave tips.» I told him that in America, tips were voluntary and can I please have my slip so I can sign it and get the hell out of there. After a sympathetic comment from a fellow customer, I walked out very angry. Definitely do not recommend, and they’re lucky they got 2 stars out of me.