Originally Posted by MissJ

Yes, I know American payroll laws quite well. The true-up to minimum wages don't always happen and can lead to abuse of servers time to have them also do menial tasks and not truly be paid for them because of the averaging of wages.

Either way though, it's the acceptable custom here, it is how it works. I would certainly not go to another country and be like "well I don't like that so I'm not going to do it". Is it really that awful to give someone a couple of dollars for their good service? If you are too cheap to follow customs and adhere to norms, get your food as takeaway and save yourself from looking like a huge jerk.

I'm also not about to think "oh they make at least minimum wage" either. Minimum wage is painfully low and I don't know how anyone can live on that. I would rather not tip and see people paid a living wage but that is not a debate for this thread. I make a good salary, have a pretty privileged life, and certainly don't sit around thinking of ways to deprive others and nickel and dime my way through life. If I make someone else's life a little easier, that is a good thing.