> I don't know how accurate this is, but I read
>somewhere that the idea of tipping came from a
>restaurant that had a donation box marked "To
>Insure Promptness" or something, and making a
>donation to that box would get you your food a
>little bit quicker. This way, you were paying
>money for increased service, instead of
>evaluating the service after the fact. If you
>ask me, the old way makes more sense, but I'd
>rather have waiters working with the idea that
>if they won't be tipped if they do a bad job. I
>wouldn't want to be served by someone who puts
>no effort into his job knowing there won't be
>any reward for his effort.

I think both of those ideas are stupid. Why should I have to pay EXTRA for prompt service? The restaurant should be giving me prompt service ANYWAY to keep me coming back. This is not something I should pay extra for.

And why should I reward someone for doing their job? I don't get extra money for doing my job "well". My "reward" for doing my job well is that I GET PAID. If I do a bad job, I GET FIRED. This is the way it should work with waitpeople.

-- Dave