I understand that this is an old thread, and that opinions have probably changed after 3 years or so, but I followed the link in a recent thread to the thread this post is in, and there's one remark in this particular post that caught my eye that I'd like to respond to.

> I like tipping at restaurants, because I enjoy great service at restaurants, and I like that the system provides an incentive for servers to give it.

To my mind (and bear in mind I'm from the UK, where tipping isn't customary), it seems that this sort of thing amounts to making people beg. It may be an incentive to provide good service, but from what I read from the other posts here it's more like a necessity.

As you've probably understood by now, I'm another one who doesn't get the whole "mandatory" tipping idea. I can understand being paid a *reasonable* wage by the restaurant but still being free to accept tips for good service, but being paid a less-than-minimum wage and practically being forced to perform well for tips to make up the rest? That sounds like begging to me; *almost* blackmail, if you will (I emphasise the "almost" because it's not exactly like it, of course).

Disclaimer: As I said, it's not customary to tip here. I may have some details wrong, but to the best of my knowledge, I haven't. (If I have, please correct me)