What kind of tipper are you?

My obsession with tipping began at a very early age... about 8 years old. We were leaving a restaurant when I noticed that my dad did not leave our waitress a tip. Perplexed and thinking that she had done a great job, I started asking my dad (in front of the whole place) "Dad, dad! You forgot her tip! Dad, are you going to leave her a tip?" He was so embarrassed that he exclaimed that he had to get some change and was going to take it back to the table. When we got outside my mom died laughing and told him that he wouldn't be able to be a cheap skate any longer if I was around.

Not that I have ever busted my butt as a waitress- I spent a month doing it and decided it was too hard for me! I couldn't stand the way people treat you like you are less than they are. Not to mention, that before tips waitresses make less than $3 an hour. Now, I am not saying that if you get bad service you should feel obligated to tip your server. But if you have had good service and didn't want for anything, it is customary (and DECENT) to leave a 15- 20% tip.

Tipping has become such a source of contention with me that I have actually quit dating someone because he was a shitty tipper or rude to our servers. I know which of my friends that I do NOT want to go to lunch or dinner with because of the way they tip (or don't tip)! It is always these people that special order everything, work the waitress to death, and then fail to leave a tip (every time). Ummm...HELLO! Just because you don't leave a tip, you leave your other friends with the burden of discretely throwing down money because your cheap ass didn't!!!! If you can't afford to eat AND tip, you should stay home or order tea! Honestly, it is a buck or two if you had an $8 entree. Really, you can't afford a dollar? If you are uncomfortable with this topic, perhaps you should rethink the way you tip or treat your servers. Or God forbid, maybe one day you'll be in the position of being a waitress. Now that would be karma at work;-)