I read an interesting article in the New York Times called "Leaving a Tip: A Custom in Need of Changing?". It caught my attention because I'm a server at a local restaurant. The main idea of the article was that whether you tip ten percent or twenty, who's to say that will affect service? Basically, Unless you're a celebrity, or your ordering a very expensive amount of food and drinks, the service you receive isn't guaranteed on anything more than the waiting staffs' mood and how expensive your outfits look. In the article it's assumed that servers neglect tables that don't look or act like they're likely to tip well. Your service may also be affected depending on race, gender and even age. The article exclaims that leaving a generous tip will have no effect on your service. So why tip? Now, everyone knows tipping is how we say "good job" and "thank you for the suggestion," or "I didn't like your tone of voice" to "you simply suck." But with personal experience it may not make a difference when you smile consistently and remember to refill their drinks before they have to ask. Some people simply come to restaurants in a bad mood or without extra money to tip. The article states that when it comes to tipping "it is irrational, outdated, ineffective, confusing, prone to abuse and sometimes discriminatory. The people who take care of us in restaurants deserve a better system, and so do we." Many servers use the idea of getting tipped well as their drive for performing well. That may be one reason why restaurants have recently included an eighteen percent charge of the total cost of the meal to ensure that servers stay at the top of their game. It is a huge change in the way restaurants run and at first I believed I wouldn't complain if the restaurant I work for underwent that change. But as I read on the article mentioned that the eighteen percent gets split between not only the front of house (waiting staff) but in the kitchen as well.