There was an interesting article over at LifeHacker [via: just a guy thing] about tipping, which is an interesting anomaly of American Culture. I’ve always had a hard time with tipping. Well, non-restaurant tipping that is. I have worked in the service industry during high school and college, and know what it means to work for tips. I typically am a generous tipper, and have found that most people who have worked in the service industry at some point in their lives are typically more generous tippers.

[ I don't want to get into the whole argument of questioning the entire tipping culture. Yes, I think employers should be paying a living wage regardless of a tip.]

When I’m in a restaurant I typically tip about 20% +/- depending on performance. And if for some reason I have a discount on the meal, I still tip based on the full price. But I never really know about other forms of tipping like taxi drivers, the pizza delivery person, valet parking attendants, that guy standing in the men’s bathroom. If I go to a place like “subway” and my change is $0.02, is it rude to drop those two pennies in the tip jar?

What do you do? In what situations do you tip, and how much? In what situations don’t you tip?

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