So, it’s been a while.

I had an interesting weekend. I did. I’ve been thinking a lot about my last blog, my squatting friend, and paying close attention to what my co-workers do to earn tips. One girl puts a big grinning smiley face on every check. Another will sit in the booth with tables she really gets a long with. Another guy cracks jokes.

I’ll admit, I added smiley’s to my normal thank you note on the bill. I still however, refuse to squat.

But, it all got me to thinking: does any of it really matter?

Think about it. Your server is average. He or she smiled when appropriate, doesn’t give you candy, but keeps your drink full. Do we really need the smiley’s and the conversation. Personally, I hate when I’m eating out and my server talks to me. I don’t know. I’m not dining out with them, right? So, I try to give people their privacy and be the silent server.

Does this make me less worthy of a good tip? Check out this article. CNN’s Jeanne Sahadi writes, continuing her 2003 series on tipping with the article “Tipping not Optional.” She talks about how, in the long run, it doesn’t matter. Even the worse servers often get tipped anyway because of the all too familiar American guilt complex. For example, this weekend, I totally forgot to put in this couples order.

Let me break it down for you. There were five of them: three small children (yes, children) and two parents. They asked me to ring in the kids’ food with the appetizer and, in attempt to manage the time they all came out, completely forgot to go back and ring in the parent’s dinner. Yeah. I got to wondering why it was taking so long when I dawned on me, I didn’t even ring it in! Now, this was truly crappy of me. I was so apologetic. I felt so bad. They had three small kids who were bored and fussy. They had to wait! I gave them dessert for free to compensate for the hour they waited for their food. I kept thinking, their not going to leave me anything. They left me $10 on a $50 check. I didn’t deserve that.

Now, think back to my previous posting about the women, the kids, and the $3 on a $60 check. People are going to tip what they’re gone tip. That’s what I’m learning. It's the luck of the draw with every table that walks in the door. Here's hoping Lady Luck doesn't forget me. My car payment's due!