I just had dinner at Louie’s with a couple of people. Our server (I remember when you could call them waitress) was Chris. She was a pretty blonde and generally just the right amount of friendly. She was efficient and did a good job. Had my daughter been there I cannot say how much would have been the associated tip (if any). My daughter has a complex formula based upon the amount of chit chat, level of liquid her drink gets to, general attitude and perkiness, speed and efficiency, and a variety of other attributes. All of these items are factored into some sort of spreadsheet which she maintains in her brain. Now I am not saying I do not understand and appreciate her zeal for wait staff evaluation, it is simply that she takes it so much more religiously than I do. I personally do not like the idea of tipping. I do it religiously, but in so many other countries around the world it is an unusual and unexpected practice. Now before you jump down my throat about it being an essential part of your income and so forth, I would just like to say that I would rather the staff be paid a realistic salary, and that additional cost to the restaurant be included in my bill, then if I wanted to leave a tip, it would be simply because the person went above and beyond in an effort to provide me superior service, which was the original concept behind a tip. What are your thoughts?
