I hate tipping, but of course do it. It was interesting in New Zealand, where locals practically begged us not to tip wait staff as it wasn't the custom and they didn't want it established.

The tip I leave is always predicated on the competency of the service. I appreciate professionalism and a good attitude and can forgive slip ups if they're willingly rectified. Last night for example, we ate at a popular sports pub, part of a locally owned chain famous for treating it's customers as valued. We had an impressive waiter, competent, willing and on top of things. One item wasn't quite as ordered [we wanted the barbecue sauce on the side, not ON the ribs, which they can do] The food is brought out by table runners, not the waiter, so when the waiter came over to see if all was well, we mentioned the sauce issue. He immediately took the blame and offered to make it right. It would take a few minutes so we opted to accept the ribs as served and wiped off extra sauce. The waiter noticed and immediately brought extra napkins without bidding. I was not inclined to penalize him for the mistake and added 18% for the tip.

No one is going to get a 25% tip from me, ever. That's just absurd. And as for adding mandatory "service charges" to the bill, that's the equivalent to bag checking charges... something that should be built into the bill and not tagged on. I think we all hate being nickel and dimed for every little thing.