Want some gouging with that guacamole?

So I go to my favourite faux-Mexican takeout place for lunch. The place where I used to be able to get two soft chicken tacos packed with fillings, plus a handful of nacho chips and salsa and a can of pop for about $7.50. And guess what? They have jacked up their prices. Now, I can live with that, to an extent. Prices do go up sometimes. But when the guy starts making the tacos, I can see that he's not even putting in half as much stuff as before. A teaspoon of chicken, a drop of salsa, a smidgen of cheese, a teensy pinch of cilantro ... I feel like Oliver Twist watching gruel being spooned oh so sparingly into my bowl. Finally, the guy puts this pathetic excuse for a meal into a takeout box and rings it in. The total comes to $8.91. Which is bad enough. But when I hand the guy a $20-bill, he doesn't say thank-you. He says: "Ya gotta penny?" The nerve.

I look through my coinage but the smallest I have is a nickel. Nope, that's not good enough, he says. He wants a penny. Well, I don't have one. But there's a plastic cup next to the till, and it's full of the little buggers. So I pull one out and say: "Here's a penny!" and I give it to him. He looks at me like I just stole the Crown Jewels. "That's our tip jar!" he says, all outraged and indignant. I'm now officially flabbergasted. I give the guy a twenty and he's bitching about a penny? All because he doesn't want to bother making change? HUH?

He tosses the penny back in the tip jar. Apparently it doesn't matter if the till is short but damned if that tip jar is taking a hit. I'm still shaking my head when I take leave of the joint -- for the last time, methinks. I'll find another lunch spot.

And by the way, am I really expected to tip for counter service? For a taco? Unbelievable.