But I remember a story about the Bush twins running wild in NYC a few years ago, getting comped something like $6,000 worth of booze and stiffing the waitstaff. It's not uncommon among a certain subset of trustfunders. Anecdotal evidence of course but I'd put it up against any study of self reported tipping practices.

I tip based on purchase and time: if I work for 2 hours I'll tip 40% since I occupied the table for twice as long as a normal person.

They get paid as little as $2.13 an hour and are supposed to make the rest up in tips...So next time you're in a restaurant, have a thought for your server. Did you help him/her make minimum wage for the time they spent running at your beck and call?

I'm sorry, why is it my responsibility to make sure someone gets paid minimum wage? Why would someone take a $2.13/hr job? Mr. C, does your wife hire servers at $2.13/hr - shame on her. And how am I to rectify this injustice? Should I always ask my server their salary and then try and bring them up to some standard wage? What wage? Minimum wage, my wage, what I think their education and experience warrants? This is too arbitrary. I'm very comfortable tipping my ~15% when I feel it is warranted.

And while were on the subject, this expectation for tips is getting way out of hand. e.g. Ice cream shop workers, coffee house workers, sandwich shop workers have jars out for tips; I heard on the radio the other day that any one who didn't leave a tip for the maid at a hotel they stayed at was cheap. Next I'll be expected to tip the city bus driver, the mail man, the gardener, my kid's teacher and all my elected officials. I mean, they all provide a service to me and most don't get paid enough for what they do.

I just hope someone tips me since I won't have enough money to pay my bills after all those tips.

For instance, if my lunch bill is $45.00, a normal 20% tip would make the tally come to $54.00. Since I hate carrying around a bunch of crap bills like $20s, $10s, and $1s, I will normally just plop down a Ben Franklin and leave.

If my bill is $40, the 20% would make it $48--in that case, I would put down a US Grant.

Some of the waitstaff at my regular haunts know my trick and they will undoubtedly push for me to order enough food and wine to push me up to a $42 tab to increase the chances for a mega tip.

I admire their ingenuity and always succumb to their menu "suggestions."

Regards, C

My wife is a restaurant manager and worked as a server for many years. Everything she and her workmates tell me backs Libby's assertion as a general rule. There are notable exceptions to it though. I know of servers who have been tipped hundreds on a $20 diner meal by richer customers who felt their service deserved it.

On a more interesting political note - did you know that servers comprise a notable loophole in minimum wage rules? They get paid as little as $2.13 an hour and are supposed to make the rest up in tips. That's a lottery, of course, and many might end a week having not done so - especially as the economy declines and less customers have free cash.

So next time you're in a restaurant, have a thought for your server. Did you help him/her make minimum wage for the time they spent running at your beck and call?

Regards, C

Why do we tip based on the price of the meal rather than, say, time spent at the restaurant, perception of work performed, quality of service, or something else. It’s not intuitively obvious that it’s remarkably harder to bring me a $35 filet and a $10 glass of pinot noir than an $8 burger and a $4.5 mug of beer. Yet, the first waiter is supposed to get $9 while the second one gets a mere $2.50 if following the 20 percent rule.

Three reasons--one is that in the same restaurant, when all things are equal, a bigger tab usually means more service rendered, so it translates that way.

The second is that in the case between a less expensive restaurant and a more expensive restaurant, you are typically paying for better quality service. Most high-end restaurants are very picky about the quality of their wait staff, so these restaurants generally deliver higher quality service. So the wait staff is compensated accordingly.

Finally, it's just EASIER to figure out a tip when it's a percentage of the bill than figuring out a host of other, vague factors.