I'm with JKDS here. It's been years since the last time I didn't tip, but I don't buy into the idea that it's required.

Teachers and firefighters deserve MUCH more than twice the pay of a waiter imo.

If anyone truly deserves to be tipped, it's the teacher who inspired your child to become a better writer, or the firefighter who saved your most prized possessions from burning up. I don't see the guy who brought me my spaghetti in the same light.

Honestly, most of the time I tip ONLY because I feel like I have to and I'm an asshole if I don't. Even if I accept the fact that only the restaurant business is special enough to deserve tips, I think it would be appropriate to only tip excellent service/attitudes.

Then again, I'm just a lowly customer who doesn't understand the ins and outs of a business so complicated that tips are the only way to make a living.