OK, I just went back and reread the article and BOY did I ever misread it. I have to apologize for saying harsh things about the author. Interestingly, I misread the very first sentence (thesis) and that poisoned the way that I took everything he said after that. I saw the ''$2 dollar tip' and the '$20 dollar tip' and did what tipped employees do, I thought: '2 on 20..' I thought the author was saying not to tip on wine purchases...Whoops!
To Robin's assertion: You have been there, I have gotten my information from guests at Disney. Of course I bow to your experience. You mentioned Michelin level restaurants. Most of my people didn't seem like the type. Perhaps they were talking about the local pubs and such, maybe they had stars in their eyes from 'Disney Magic,' but I did hear it a lot.
The acronym T.I.P.S. was a training tool popular in corporate restaurant culture as far back as the 80's. I learned it at Shoney's training as a server for the first time. I saw a show, can't remember for the life of me which, on Food Network that explained the American tradition of tipping servers. This author was disputing that assertion. As the story goes, in NY in the 19th century, businessmen dining for lunch would sit down and place a 'tip' on the table to expedite their service. NY was a pretty busy place even then, and the servers would, indeed, show them preference over all the other tables. The more generous you were, the faster you returned to work. That's where my perspective of the subject comes from. Thanks for your 'snoping', too, because it seems that the author is shedding yet an older light on the subject. Interesting.
The sad thing about my reading of the article and all that ensued is that, for me, it's always automatic: I overtip everyone, karma's a b!tch! So the rant was all a much ado about nothing, lol!
