I suspect, this is one of those things where the majority would agree with you, but it's such an entrenched custom that some of us find very hard to break. While only speaking for myself, I'm from the school of thought that with all due deference to the "old" ways, what we should try to is embrace the "right" way, which I appreciate is beyond the scope of anything on FT.

Having said that, as one who appreciates very much both history and custom, I'm ready to drop this in the SF Bay Area. Hourly wages are reaching $20 per hour, tax is around 9%, 5%-6% healthcare charge, and the service industry is advocating for 20% as a minimum after tax and alcohol. They've gone too far, and if there's one thing I ain't gonna be in life, it's a chump.

Of course, to each his/her own, but unless I know the restaurant and have a history, they're not getting anything above 10% from me here.