Originally Posted by
kipper
A $10 plate of pasta usually takes less work than a $30 steak, and your tip doesn't go just to the server. They usually have to tip out bus people, bartenders, and in some restaurants, now, kitchen staff. Cooking a steak takes more effort than a plate of pasta or a pizza, because people are usually very particular with their steaks.
As far as tipping mail people, garbage people, etc., I leave a present for my mail person at Christmas, and usually leave something for the garbage people as well. It's called being generous and appreciative.
This.
The server is not cooking the steak. In fact the server might be doing more with the $10 plate of pasta by having to grate cheese over it while the $30 steak just gets set down in front of you. It does not take more work/effort to serve an expensive dish than it does to serve a cheap dish. Why should the server get a bigger tip on setting down a plate of shrimp than a plate of chicken? Or opening a $100 bottle of wine vs a $30 bottle of wine?
Tipping based on the cost of the meal/service makes no sense.