Lesson on Tipping

Having worked in a restaurant and knowing many servers one thing that really gets me is the fact that some people are extremely cheap at tipping. I am not saying every server or delivery person deserves a major tip but at the same time I think people forget that the majority of the salaries of these people come from tipping. Most servers I know get a base pay of a couple dollars and hour and the rest of their salary comes from tips. I know times are hard for some people and so leaving a big tip may not be something you are able to do but I do believe that if you are going to go out to eat you should account for the tip before deciding where to go. If you are struggling yourself and can't afford to tip your server a few dollars on a $20 meal then maybe you should be eating somewhere cheaper, say Burger King, or saving even more money by cooking your own food. How would you feel if someone could decide that whatever product or service you provide was at the outer edge of what they could afford so they could decide to take a few bucks off the top out of your salary in order for them to be able to afford it. If it is the math that messes you up on tipping a simple rule of thumb is a dollar per ten dollars for ok service, a $1.50 per ten dollars for good service and two dollars per ten for great service. I generally leave a minimum of a dollar on any meal even if it is only a few bucks, at a place like say waffle house. One more thing, if you have a coupon, don't tip on the cost of your meal after the coupon, they did the work of the full cost of the meal tip based on the full price of the meal. In the end tipping is not about how much money you do or don't have, it is about respecting your server (or delivery person) and in my opinion tells a lot about who someone is as a person.