I usually agree with most of your posts but as a former waiter, I'm struggling with this a bit. Is it illegal for a server to make it known to others that someone has left a sub-standard tip? Is it really even inappropriate? Surely it's OK for a server to tell his fellow servers that someone has a history of being a shitty tipper, right? So how many people is it OK to tell?
There is a huge difference between telling your co-workers "this guy is a bad tipper" (or "this guy is a great tipper" or "This guy is a regular; he likes his water without lemon and is allergic to peanuts!") and publishing someone's name online. Especially when you throw accusations of racism into the mix.
Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is; If you're gonna be a cheapskate, then own it. It's not the end of the world.
The big deal is that my name and tipping habits are between me, the businesses I patronize and the wait staff that the businesses employ. Not the Internet at large.
DO you tip? Would you really not tip at a place you regularly frequent? If so, you are a brave dude with a strong immune system.
I usually tip well - even generously when I get great service - but that is irrelevant. It's my decision to do so, and I make it consciously based on my own reasons; if you must know you can chalk it up to the fact that many years ago I worked, albeit briefly, in a restaurant and I know how important tips can be when you're paid peanuts and struggling to make ends meet.
But, of course, I can afford to tip. What about someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck and can barely make ends meet, who decides to take his girlfriend out for dinner on a special occasion? Or his kids out for pizza on their birthdays? Ask
that person - who may very well work in a restaurant himself - whether he can afford an extra 20% on top of the price of food and drinks. Is the answer
really "well then don't go out to eat!"? Because that's pretty fucked up.
As for the latter part of your comment, I think that only proves the point that wait staff that would tea-bag a customer's food or piss in their soup have a sense of entitlement and are unprofessional pricks. On top of that it's a form of blackmail: "tip well or else..." And you know something? I don't respond well to blackmail, even when it's silent.
If a restaurant gives me shitty service, I talk to either the server or the manager, as necessary. I may not leave a tip at all if service was particularly horrible or the issue I raised wasn't addressed to my satisfaction but only if the issue was with the server. But if things were that bad, I would be very unlikely to patronize the same establishment again. I live in Las Vegas, so it's not like my restaurant options are limited.