To Insure Proper Service

TIPS. . .what servers, bartenders, and cabbies make their living off of. Tipping is a two way street though. It isn't just you giving up your hard earned money to just anybody for just anything. The person performing the service must live up to their end of the bargain (hence the acronym) by providing good service. You get the good service in anticipation of a Tip. In the absence of good service the amount of the tip should decrease but it should increase with the level of service as well. I waited tables for years and there were definitely times when I wondered why people left me the amount of money they did when I knew I didn't deserve it. On the other hand there were plenty of times when I got far less than I knew I deserved. There are people out there who honestly believe that five dollars is a good tip no matter what. On a fifteen or twenty dollar bill it is but on a 100$ bill it is an insult.

Where is this leading? Well D. was talking about the iPod Touch 2.0 software update which allows you to download different apps to your iPod. Naturally I had to get it once I saw it and I am addicted to the applications on there. One of the ones I saw (I should say one of the free ones) is Tip calculator that you can also use to figure out how to split the checks (if you weren't thoughtful and let the server know ahead of time that you had separate checks then this will come in very handy). I know a lot of people who can definitely use this (like the entire continent of Europe. . .or Canadians) when eating out in the U.S. As a basic rule when dining out 15% is the norm for a tip. 20% (or more) for great service and 10% for mediocre service. This is very important because servers generally make less than half of minimum wage.

Tip calculators aren't the only cool applications. I found at least 4 cocktail reference guides, 3 wine guides (and tasting notes), and different restaurant search engines along with nutritional info and grocery list makers. Damn, I think I may end up with more applications than music on my iPod.