Reply #224: Amen! I once offered to wait for a friend who had a small restaurant and [View All]

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was really short on wait staff one week. I frequently went to his restaurant -- just about best I've ever been to, hands down, and reasonably priced. Anyway, he laughed and hugged me, said thanks but no thanks. He opined that I'd dump a boiling hot scampi in the lap of the first person who was rude and pissed me off. He was probably close to right. :P I truly don't know how people who have to "serve" the public put up with all of the crap they get, including getting stiffed when they've worked their asses off. Like many here, it's rare that I don't tip very well. I can't afford to go out to eat much and always figure in not only the cost of the meal but a 20% tip (about as much as I can afford). It's incredibly rare for me to tip less -- the service has to be truly crappy, rude, etc. And when it's a quick bite and cup of coffee at a diner (which I also don't do often), I'm likely to tip 50% to 100%. I certainly understand those who can't afford to do so, but on those infrequent occasions that I eat at a diner, I can afford to tip $3 on a $3.24 tab. I watch those servers work their butts off for tiny tips based on the low cost of most of the checks.