Well, see, I don't mind tipping for a more complex drink, like a Frappucino (I get the non-coffee kind, of course); it seems somewhat involved and like it takes a decent amount of effort (certainly more than putting a burger under a heat lamp for a few seconds). On the other hand, I definitely think that I probably shouldn't tip if all they're doing is putting a cookie on a plate or something like that.
But yeah, tipping mores do vary by region; I have a friend from South Korea who NEVER tips, and I and one of my English friends were HORRIFIED at discovering this. And personally, it seems weird to me that you'd give a bigger tip to your hairdresser than to a restaurant; it seems from what I've seen of midwestern US standards that here it'd be the same for both, or even more likely, the other way around. (I usually tip 20% for haircuts and then feel vaguely like I'm overdoing it, whereas I happily tip 20% at restaurants.)
And I generally tip based on the final total (i.e., counting sales tax), but I don't know about other people. Especially here in Iowa, the sales tax is pretty low (about 5%; in Kansas City, it's about 10%, so tax seems so much cheaper here), so it doesn't seem like too much of a biggie to me. But yeah, I don't think most people take into account how much waiters are taxed; hell, it seems like very few people realize that waiters in the US can and are paid below minimum wage, so I can't imagine waiters' welfare really entering into things a whole lot for Americans as a whole. (We're a rather selfish lot when it comes to service industries, I think.)
But then tipping practices may not just vary by region, but by upbringing and habits; a lot of people don't go to restaurants very often at all, and so may not tip more than say 10-15% when they do go, whereas I go quite regularly (and pretty much always have, my whole life) and usually to the same ones, at which point it becomes imperative to tip at least decently (if you don't want crap service and food). And so I tip a minimum of 20%, up to 25% if the service was extraordinary or somehow above-and-beyond (like a large group or somesuch). Whereas I don't have a regular hairdresser, and my haircut is relatively simple, so it's probably not as imperative for me to tip my hairdresser well as it is for someone who goes every 2-4 weeks, always to the same person, and who depends on said person to cut/dye/straighten/whatever their hair so it doesn't look like ass.
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But yeah, tipping mores do vary by region; I have a friend from South Korea who NEVER tips, and I and one of my English friends were HORRIFIED at discovering this. And personally, it seems weird to me that you'd give a bigger tip to your hairdresser than to a restaurant; it seems from what I've seen of midwestern US standards that here it'd be the same for both, or even more likely, the other way around. (I usually tip 20% for haircuts and then feel vaguely like I'm overdoing it, whereas I happily tip 20% at restaurants.)
And I generally tip based on the final total (i.e., counting sales tax), but I don't know about other people. Especially here in Iowa, the sales tax is pretty low (about 5%; in Kansas City, it's about 10%, so tax seems so much cheaper here), so it doesn't seem like too much of a biggie to me. But yeah, I don't think most people take into account how much waiters are taxed; hell, it seems like very few people realize that waiters in the US can and are paid below minimum wage, so I can't imagine waiters' welfare really entering into things a whole lot for Americans as a whole. (We're a rather selfish lot when it comes to service industries, I think.)
But then tipping practices may not just vary by region, but by upbringing and habits; a lot of people don't go to restaurants very often at all, and so may not tip more than say 10-15% when they do go, whereas I go quite regularly (and pretty much always have, my whole life) and usually to the same ones, at which point it becomes imperative to tip at least decently (if you don't want crap service and food). And so I tip a minimum of 20%, up to 25% if the service was extraordinary or somehow above-and-beyond (like a large group or somesuch). Whereas I don't have a regular hairdresser, and my haircut is relatively simple, so it's probably not as imperative for me to tip my hairdresser well as it is for someone who goes every 2-4 weeks, always to the same person, and who depends on said person to cut/dye/straighten/whatever their hair so it doesn't look like ass.