Your Restaurant Tipping Practices???

Yahoo ran a piece called, Banker's Insulting Waitress Tip Incites Warfare Between The 1% And The 99%.

You can read about it here:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/banker-insulting-tip-incites-class-warfare-between-1-164624882.html

According to one little bit of info I found during a Google frenzy, more than 85% of us have left a lousy tip to punish waiters whose service wasn't up to snuff. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, though I personally won't tip less than 20%. That's my minimum, "man-you-were-having-an-off-day" tip.

I always leave 20% and round up. When I can leave more, I do.

Waiting tables is a HARD gig. It's stressful. It's exhausting. It's too often demeaning. Hunger tends to bring out the worst in people. TIP YOUR SERVERS PROPERLY.

Lately I've heard a lot of grumbling about the practice of tipping. Some people resent the hell out of restaurants for not paying their servers enough to live on, and there's an argument to be made there. But as long as servers get paid $3.00 an hour, I'm going to do my part--and then some--to make up for people like The Wealthy Banker in the story above.

Serenity NOW.

Despite the fact that I have not waited tables in about 13 years, OH MY GOSH HOLY CRAP HOW I WANT TO SPILL SOMETHING ON THIS MAN.

Something hot.

AND SPICY.

And red.

AND SAUCY.

And then when he asks for extra napkins? I'll say, OH! I'M SO SORRY! WE ARE OUT OF NAPKINS! I can't believe it! Me! Spilling the last of the hot spicy red saucy sauce in your lap and not having a napkin to wipe it up with? Why, I bet you won't even leave me a decent tip now!

Oh wait.

That's right.

YOU WEREN'T GOING TO ANYWAY.

I FORGOT.

Grr.

That wasn't very charitable of me.

I don't know why I let myself get so riled up about the acts of strangers. (Especially the ones that aren't directed at me.) I should just let it go. The man is clearly misinformed. Not all waiters can just go get a high-paying job if they want to. I assume that's what he means when he refers to "A Real Job."

If we made it the restaurant's responsibility to pay waiters more, the cost of our meals would increase substantially and then these jerks would complain about not being able to eat out anymore. I should just hit the IGNORE button and move on. WHY WHY WHY DOES MY COMPUTER NOT HAVE AN IGNORE BUTTON?

(Get on that, Microsoft.)

There's just something in the banker's tone. Something so ugly and angry and hateful and contrary to what life (in my humble opinion) is all about. Compassion, looking out for each other, being kind... Not acting like a festering ass boil to the people who serve you.

THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.