20% Anger

There is an ititiative, I don't know whether it's national or just in Oklahoma, to add a mandatory 20% tip to all - ALL - restaurant bills. If this passes, you will see me doing two things. First, I will eat out a LOT less. Second, I will complain complain complain about poor service. The managers WILL hear from me!

Here's my problem with this. First, I went to dictionary.com and looked up the definition of gratuity. Gratuity means...

1. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip.
Look at the keywords there - a gift... over and above. If it's automatically added to my bill, it's not a gift.

2. something given without claim or demand.
Again, how can it be given without claim or demand if it is forced upon me?

Second, the IRS assumes that waiters and waitresses earn a gratuity of 15% for each check. It used to be on their honor but now the IRS just makes the assumption. Of course, if you average more than 15% per check, the IRS still assumes 15%. If they're going to mandate 20%, they should be taxed on 20%.

I will admit there are those in this world that do not tip. They'll stiff a waiter/waitress every time. I'm not one of those. Yes, there are situations where I do not tip - such as at Sonic where the delivery of your food is part of the business model and when I get take-out - but I will give at least 15% if service is adequate. I've schleped enough food to know it's worth it.

To me, this "mandatory tip" is the same as when a food service person does not bring you the coin remainder of your change because they make an automatic assumption that this it is for them. This pisses me off!

I could rant and ramble on all night but I'll yield the floor to you to chime in on this before I get too far off on a tangent.