Ed Pawlowski wrote:

>> I don't buy the argument that tips should be a higher percentage
>> because the cost of living has increased. Restaurant prices rise with
>> the cost of living, so a 15% tip automatically increases the server's
>> tips.
>
> Agree on that. Now that real estate prices plummeted are we going to
> give agents a double commission to make up the difference? Given the
> economic times, I know plenty of people that have not had a raise in a
> couple of years and I know plenty of commission based sales people that
> are still getting the same percentage on gross sales that dropped a lot.
>
> OTOH, a lot of restaurants have been offering special deals to keep
> people coming in. I don't stiff the staff because the owner takes a
> dive on his prices. I'll tip higher percentage on that.


I haven't been seeing a lot of price cuts. What I am seeing more of is
early bird specials, which tend to be pretty good deals on dinners from
5-6 pm. That's a time when most restaurants aren't doing much business.
One way to look at it is that they are getting something at a time when
they would otherwise be getting nothing.