I think the waiter thing bothers me. I really don't need someone to make me happy by serving my food. I would be perfectly willing to just go down a buffet line and just pick whatever and bus my own table. (Well, actually a lot of restaurants where I live do ask you to bus your own tables, which I really prefer the non-interference in general... I don't like being interrupted in the middle of a conversation to ask if I want more water... it's like, I don't care... I'm interested in the conversation.) So I often feel really stressed out at restaurants that have wait staff because there's the constant interruptions and the constant questions that I don't know the answer to and then there's the tip element... it is just way too complicated. Thankfully, I rarely go to such places. I think this is my severely antisocial side talking. I think I find the idea that someone feels they have to treat you a certain way in order for you to give them enough tip to get enough pay for the day disgusting. I guess that I mean it feels unequal (and I've worked in service jobs before so I know first hand how it feels - or rather how I felt). I think that American culture is getting way too service-oriented for the most part.