Tipping Minimum Amount For Cup of Coffee

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

If you are in a restaurant and served a cup or coffee for $2, then what is the appropriate tip?

For example, one person in my group insists on tipping 20% for the $2 coffee or 40 cents for her share. But, this seems too low a tip. Shouldn't there be a minimum tip of about a dollar, no matter what the cost of your food is?

Signed,

What say you?

Dear What say you,

Yes, you have the right idea. When food or drinks are delivered to your table and the wait staff is attentive, keeping your drinks filled and taking away empty plates, then the minimum tip should be at least one dollar. So, for the $2 coffee, a 20% tip equals 40 cents, but the minimum tip would be $1 from your colleague.

However, if you are sitting at the table for a very long period of time having a meeting or discussion, then the tip should be more than the minimum tip, especially if the restaurant is busy and you are taking up table space that could be generating business for the restaurant and additional tips for the wait staff.