Why I love Miss. Conduct
Didjit: I've heard the "official" restaurant tipping rule is 15-20% of the food total -- not including bar or tax. Generally, I'll just go from the total bill because most people seem to expect that. However, when splurging, the tax and especially the bar can be very large, and the tip alone becomes what you might normally spend for a dinner out. What's your take on this pre-tax pre-bar "rule"?
Robin_Abrahams: It's a way to be a cheapskate. If you're going to splurge, you don't then not splurge on the one thing that benefits someone other than *you*. Tip after tax, after bar bill, and at LEAST 15% if the service was adequate. As Barretta might have said in that 70's cop show, "If you can't do the tip, don't do the sip."
More to come later.