Honestly, some of the posters here are major cheapskates. If you plan on tipping a maximum of $20 for a meal at a restaurant I owned, I would hope you didn't bother coming in.

I really doubt these posters ever eat at truly first class restaurants because there is no way you're going to eat at a 28-29 Zagat rated restaurant and tip the kind of minimal amounts described above (if you wanted to return to a friendly staff). Eat at McDonald's until you grow up.

You should tip 15% minimum and 20%+ for good service. In extraordinarily bad situations, I could see dropping below 15%.

And the comment about not tipping housekeeping staff in the US is way off base.

Yes, great waitstaff in great restaurants can reach $75,000/year. You get great service too. Welcome to America.