Gratuitous Gratuity

So I've been working out earlier in the mornings because my workout partner got a job. I take this time to do a little extra cardio and enjoy my breakfast a little longer. Yesterday I forgot my breakfast so I walked about a quarter mile up to a coffee shop near work. I just get a cup of coffee and a bagle. The bagles were in a basket on the counter, and the coffee was self serving. I put it on my check card because I had no cash and the total was $2.24. There was a line on the receipt for gratuity and a big tip jar on the counter. When he saw me signing the receipt (he was watching very intently) he moved the tip jar over closer to me to make sure I read the huge sign that said "TIPS!!!" on it. This is unacceptable. I am so tired of seeing tip jars that if this trend continues I'll see one on someones desk at work. If I'm serving myself and you've really done nothing besides turn the coffee machine on (the bagels are bought somewhere else) don't ask me for a tip. This guy - who buy the way was just running the register while someone else handed me a coffee cup and a bag for my bagel - gets mad and wads up my credit card slip while giving me a dirty look then throws it on the ground.

Okay, I waited tables for a good five years at Outback and Chili's. You can't tell me that the service of handing someone a cup for some lukewarm coffee is equivalent to someone who brings your entire meal to you and fills your drinks. Even if I were to tip someone like that, and tip them 15 percent, the best they could hope for is 34 cents. Why get mad over 34 cents when they're paying you an hourly wage? Waiters make $2.125 per hour people, and if they work more than 40 hours they end up making less. After this guy walked off I took his tip jar and set it behind his counter out of site. Maybe he got the message, maybe he didn't. Either way, I'm buying coffee somewhere else.