Tipping. It's one of life's great mysteries. I'm never quite sure how much to tip when at a restaurant. They say in the region of 10%, and I suppose that seems like a fair figure, but how representative of the service does the tip have to be? I usually lean towards over-tipping so as to negate any possibility of getting mean looks on the way out and/or having a disgruntled chef spit in my food on my next visit.
Waiters and waitresses, for the most part, deserve every tip they get. Some of you reading this have had this job at some point in your lives and you know what it is that you have to go through. There's the raging insincerity, the 'have a nice day' speech, the recitation of the evening's specials for the umpteenth time - all delivered with a smile forcing its way out through gritted teeth. 10% of your bill is small beans compared to the performance your waitress gives every time you eat out.
They say that a good test of one's characters is by how they treat waitresses. So next time you're out on a date with that guy who works in Tower Records who kinda sorta looks likes a slightly overweight version of Russell Brand, keep a close eye on how he speaks to the waiter.
But what about those whose wallets are more padded than yours or mine? Let's have a look at the unofficial Entertainment.ie Best and Worst celebrity tippers.
The Top 5
1 - David Beckham. As much fun as it is to arbitrarily dislike him for no more reason that he's successful, it turns out that Dave is a damn generous tipper. He is said to have tipped $1000 for $100 tab at an LA bar recently.
2 - Drew Barrymore is said to tip 100% of the tab, no matter what it is.
3 - Charlie Sheen. At his daughter's 16th birthday, Sheen tipped every staff member $200.
4 - Johnny Depp. While shooting Public Enemies, Depp took some of the crew out for a meal which came to $2600, after which he left a tip somewhere in the region of $1500.
5 - Barack Obama. Obama was said to have tipped $18 for a $2 glass of beer. Let's hope he displays more fiscal prudence when it comes to the economy, eh?
The Bottom 5
1 - Barbara Streisand. When she does decide to tip, it's meagre. She once tipped $10 for a meal which came to $450.
2 - Dan Marino. The NFL legend refused to speak to his waiter directly, preferring to relay messages through a member of his Entourage. He then tipped less than 2% of the total price.
3 - Britney Spears. Once left a tip for a valet by dropping change on the ground and informing him "there's your tip".
4 - Madonna. The queen of pop rarely leaves tips at all, and when she does they're paltry.
5 - Jeremy Piven. It saddens us here in Entertainment.ie to learn that Ari Gold himself is a bad tipper. He supposedly left an Entourage DVD in lieu of an actual tip and is loud and boorish. He has been banned from all Nobu restaurants worldwide because of this behaviour.
Do you have any celebrity tipping stories? Leave them in the Talkbacks!
-John Balfe