>>>I'm pretty much the same way. (Plus, I can't do actual math in my head to save my life, so I'm always liberal...oh my god, did I just admit I'm a liberal???)
>
>LOL. So pity the foreigner who is not used to math at the end of a nice dinner out.;-)
>
>FWIW I tend to shift the decimal point for 10% then half it and then halve that, adding to 17.5% and rounding up all the way. I take if from the tax-inclusive price including alcohol, though some older conservative associates insist it's supposed to be 15% on the pre-tax cost of the meal only. From what I'm seeing here maybe I'm a bit cheap.

My sentiments are similar to Tamar's - the few extra bucks likely mean more to the server than they do to me.

Underneath the Ayn Rand exterior I'm really a softie. :)

I mentioned in an earlier post - I worked in a restaurant for a few months and I know it is not fun work, so I'm sympathetic. We often talk about servers who work very hard and hustle to do everything they can. I work hard but I love my line of work. I have to believe that most servers don't particularly like their jobs (except maybe bartenders), so it's a little tougher to hustle. You're on your feet most of the time, and if you're a female, you sometimes have to deal with crap from badly-behaving men (I've seen it several times). And I can tell you from friends of mine who have been restaurant managers, servers are often treated horribly by shift managers. So that's why I'm sympathetic and tip generously, unless the server is just horrible.

(For all the jokey-ribbing that JB and I do with each other up here, this is actually an issue where we always disagree).