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The free online dictionary defined gratuity as "a favor or gift, usually in the form of money, given in return for service." If it's required then it isn't a favor or a gift, it's a fee. So @mongoose is correct.

As for the article... A 18% gratuity on their $73.87 tab would have been $13.29, not the $16.35 they were charged so that's unfair to the customers. The article I first read about the incident mentioned that the group waited over an hour for salads and wings, that their waitress went out for a cigarette break instead of bringing their napkins/silverware/etc, and that they had to go to the bar to get their drinks because no one was around to wait on them.

Yes waitstaff deserve a break but leaving a group of people for an hour without any service is irresponsible. Not bringing your table the items they require like drinks or silverware or their food is irresponsible. The restaurant barely did what they were supposed to do. The customers should not be required to pay. I think they should have complained to a manager and pointed out the math error in the bill and explained why they were refusing to tip instead of just walking out.

My Thanksgiving is pot luck, so I'm actually cooking my own turkey and sides this weekend so I'll have plenty of leftovers and meals to put up.

The things I make in a leisurely way in advance are:
1) the squash, which takes up either a burner or the oven, (and which doesn't suffer at all from being made early). Nuke to reheat.
2)the rutabaga, which I boil or steam cubed and then reheat and mash when I want it ready,
3) the whole cranberry sauce.
4) Apple pie filling. For myself I don't actually bake a pie for Thanksgiving. I'd rather have a second helping of stuffing. But I make a casserole full of apple pie filing - sliced apples, white and brown sugar, minute tapioca, a little cinnamon. I like to add this to my frozen Thanksgiving meals too.
5) Sometimes I make bread in advance so I can cube and dry it for stuffing. Sometimes I buy bagged and supplement it with a good bread.

The just leaves the stuffing, the potatoes, the sweet potatoes and something green to cook while the turkey is in the oven, and this is quite manageable. I microwave the sweet potatoes in slices, which is how I usually cook them. I cook the giblets and neck for the broth, and saute onions and celery and get the stuffing ready to go in the oven near the end of the turkey time, or put it in the oven when the turkey comes out if I'm cooking a huge turkey. I make the gravy from the pan juices once the turkey comes out and is resting.

One tradition of our potlucks is a fresh fruit salad with a pineapple juice custard folded with whipped cream for a topping. Makes a nice bright counterpoint to the heavier starches.

@AZN--did you work in the industry?

Thanks PDX. I was feeling beaten up for stating the facts.

Don't you think waiters would like a guaranteed wage? The tipping system sucks. And the tips I got were then dispersed to the bartender, the host, the bussers, the dishwashers and the cooks. And those people made above minimum wage. I tipped them from my tips because it would insure prompt service when I needed it. We weren't required to tip them out where I worked, though I've heard more corporate places require it. We all took care of each other. So a bad tipper is known restaurant-wide, or even city wide because we all hung out together. I found that most people were generous, that 20% to 25% was common. I tip at least 30% because it's only a few extra dollars on top of what I was going to spend on the meal anyway. It's not a big deal. I find that commentors who get worked up about the tip system are generally trying to justify their actions. I would never date someone who calculated a tip down to the percentage before tax. It really tells me a lot about that person.

I hate the whole tipping custom. I would much rather pay one person (the restaurant owner) enough to cover the REAL cost of my meal AND the service. Instead, I have to pay both the restaurant owner (for the food and setting) as well as the server and whoever else gets a share, over which, please note, I as customer have no control, although how much I leave in addition to the price of the meal is supposedly a response to only the server's behavior. AND, I have to do the math, which I don't enjoy. Also, I hate the idea of having to give a free job performance review at the end of a meal (I hate doing that at work, too, but that's another story; at least I have gotten paid for it).

That said, I usually tip 20% if the service is average to good, maybe a bit less if it isn't, because those in the biz didn't set the rules and it's not fair to punish them for working under stupid conditions. But I still hate the whole darn thing. We are chumps to put up with it, but I don't know how to change it.

i always tip 20% unless the person is outright rude. but even then, i decide that i am really lucky that i don't have to carry heavy trays, deal with rude customers or angry managers, or work for $3/hr and even if it is the waitress' or waiter's choice to be there, a few extra dollars may mean I can't buy a back of gum later or something but it sure is going to make their night. Tipping isn't a big deal. It's about being nice and throwing someone who works a difficult and demeaning job a little kindness. so, be "precise" about your math if you want to but if you don't want to tip, you shouldn't go to a restaurant.

"it's not tipping I believe in, it's OVER tipping!" - Vincent Antonelli aka Todd Wilkinson

I kind of feel the same way.

Generally I tip well and because I treat the wait staff well I normally receive good service. Both my foster daughter and my sister are waitresses and I am well aware of how hard their jobs are. I would say I normally tip a little above the 20% level.

"Waitron" is a term we used ironically.

If it is required, it is not a gratuity, it is a service fee, and should be described as such.

I worked, very briefly, as a waitress. It was an appalling job in a small diner, the sort of place where couples would bring their colection of feral children, order things, send them back, shatter glasses, swear at the staff... and leave a religious tract as a tip. No kidding. After half a day of this, I begged to change my position to busboy (girl? juvenile? whatever...).

So, I do understand that waiting tables can be demanding, and is frequently grotesquely underpaid. For good service, I tip 20% (or a dollar, if 20% is less than that, e.g. if I just get coffee). But I do NOT tip well (rarely, not at all) for bad service (I don't lump bad coordination/luck--hey, accidents happen--having way too many tables to serve, kitchen-related issues, or even what appears to be congenital idiocy against a waiter/ress). If they're clearly trying to be professional and courteous, well, that works for me.
Poor service (rude, ignores diners, etc.), poor tip.

Frankly, I prefer to eat at restaurants where the waitstaff is paid a proper living wage, not 'waitress wages', but that is stll pretty rare in the US.

(And you do NOT want to get me started on the tip cups/jars that are to be found in coffee shops everywhere.)

I usually tip 20% pre-tax.