Tipping Gone WILD

When the Starbucks Barristas put out their tip jars for their incredibly difficult job of pouring coffee, I poked fun.

When my drycleaner put out a tip jar near the register I bitched but threw in some loose change

When the Lonely Maytag Man fixed my fridge and charged $100 an hour for his time flat out asked for a tip, I bitched and moaned. I also gave him a beer.

But the buck stops HERE! Today I saw the most egregious begging for unearned tips I have ever, ever experienced in my whole life. This kind of begging is so base, so utterly disgusting and depraved, that I am refusing, REFUSING to visit this ... this... this place ever again.

This "restaurant" is called Delmanicos, and is located at Illinois Center II on the concourse level. It is a salad bar type place - one station has a regular salad bar, the other has warm food. There is also a grill where workers perform activities such as one would expect from an employee of McDonalds: Fry a hamburger, put some ketchup on it, put it on a bun.

The buffet is completely self-serve, and as I said, the guy behind the grill isn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

There is a tip jar, labeled "TIPS" by the cash register.

Let this sink in - a self-service restaurant has cashiers asking for tips.

Also, let me add that Delmonicos is run by a Family. That's right, the owners of this self-service establishment are looking for tips.... at the cash register. Miss Manners AND Anne Landers have both said that I don't have to tip the owner of an establishment.

This is really going too far. Come on, folks in the service industries: PAY YOUR FUCKING EMPLOYEES! Why should I pay an extra service charge for someone to work a cash register, let alone flip a burger?

What's next? Is the stockboy at the White Hen going to put out a tip jar in the soda case?