Joining in the great tipping debate...
In the US, friends and I have been chased down the street because we "only left a 15% tip" for the waitress. The proprietress demanded that it be at least 20%.

In the UK, tipping has always been more of a "if they deserve a tip, then they'll get it", whilst the US is more "they'll get a tip, and if they deserve it then it'll simply be a massive tip". Unfortunately, restaurants in the UK now seems to expect a tip for the serving people, whether they deserve it or not.

I've vowed never to eat in Ed's Diner again, after one particular incident: a friend and I had had a mediocre and overpriced burger, and when the bill came, it was about 22 pounds. However, in small print at the bottom, it said that an optional service charge of 12.5% had been added. We did not think that the food or service was worth 12.5%, so we simply put 20 pounds on the table and got ready to go. The manager shouted at us, saying that we'd not paid the full amount. We pointed out that we'd paid a bit of a tip, but it was entirely optional, and we didn't think that it deserved that much. She threatened to call the police! We just walked out, leaving her impotent with fury.

The point is, we were in the right, and she entirely in the wrong. However, I'm starting to feel that some waiters/waitresses act exactly like many of the dole scum prevalent in last week's QOTW: they feel that they're "owed" their tips, regardless of whether or not they've actually bothered working for them.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Mon 27 Oct 2008, 11:33, Reply)