Gratuity

Call it a tip or a gratuity, the meaning is the same. It means showing someone they did a good job. It is not called an obligation. Last night, I ate at a local delicatessen with my father. A waiter came to take our order. As we each told him what we wanted, his response was a gruff, "I got it". We waited a bit and another person brought us our sandwiches. The waiter never returned to ask if everything was okay. When we were done eating, we needed two boxes for the extra food we wanted to take home. We sat and sat and the waiter was nowhere to be found. We finally caught the eye of the hostess. She got us the boxes and the check. Still no waiter. The hostess saw we were searching for him so she got the check and ran the credit card through. My husband asked me how much tip to leave. He wanted to leave the usual 20%. Why? What was I tipping for? A gruff "I got it?" I called over the hostess and asked if the waiter was in the witness protection program, since he disappeared. She said he decided to leave and go on a break and he was in trouble for other things he did that day too. I decided to leave only 10%, just in case the tips were pooled.