I absolutely love to write these controversial type articles, because I seem to have a weird and skewed view of the world. And this week, it's the etiquette when tipping your server. And no, you are not required to tip your server, so let's just get into it.

I constantly hear people argue about tipping your server and how it's absolutely required and they only make so much money and blah blah. Honestly, tipping is like a bonus. You have to work for it, and it doesn't just come free cause you happen to work at a place that depends on tipping. Nothing is guaranteed and nothing is owed to you.

When you as a person decide to work in a place that is based on customer service, where people who pay for their meals also pay a bit more as appreciation. You take a risk in working these jobs. There are other types of jobs that pay you a flat fee. You work for 8 hours, you get so much an hour, every hour. But then there are these types of jobs, that rely on tips. You willingly accepted this job, because you thought that you would make more doing this then you would being paid a flat hourly wage. And no, I am absolutely not going to tip you a large sum of money because you think you deserve it, or because you have your own bills to pay. However, I will tip you based on these few things.

Attitude- How happy are you? Are you acting like it's good to see me? Are you trying to start a conversation and be lighthearted? Are you actually trying to enjoy yourself at work? These things are very important to me. Servers are, in fact, people, and I know work can be tough, but you have to at least put your worries behind the shelf and put on a good front. I want to hear you joke and to be polite. We are both people on opposite sides of the industry, but we still go home and try to survive. So just relax, and do your best, and that really counts for a lot.

Effort- I honestly try not to be a burden, and I don't like to flag the server down, if they are not nearby. If you're going out of your way to get used dishes out of the way and check in on the table to replenish drinks, that goes a long way, too. It takes very little time to say 'Hey, everything good?' I hate having to look and wait forever for my server to reappear and just keeping an eye out, and not necessarily dropping everything, but at least keeping a look at my table in case someone needs something: that is absolutely critical. And as a side note, if you're someone whose only job is to bring us a round of drinks one time, I am absolutely not tipping you for that.

Lastly, Presentation- I don't specifically mean how you look, although trust me, I have seen some grungy type servers but honestly more often than not, appearance-wise, guys and girls always look very nice. What I mean by presentation is how you present yourself to others. I really don't want to hear tat you're the partying type or you did this type of drug. I also don't want to hear that you're set in life and you're just working this job as something to do. I am, in fact, interested in your day to day life, but you have to be careful what you choose. Telling me about school or something you did is cool. Telling me how bad things are at home, or such, not so much. I re-emphasize: you are another person just like me. But just like you don't want to hear about my issues, I don't have time for yours either. So lets get together, you take care of me and enjoy yourself, and I'll make sure that I take care of you on the check, and not for anything less.