For some reason this ridiculous non-story is all over every entertainment website:
Robert Pattinson is a terrible tipper.
The 'Twilight' hunk has been criticised after only leaving waiting staff $50 following a luxurious lunch with four friends at New York's Il Cantinori restaurant last Tuesday (14.07.09).
Despite the first-class service they received, the 23-year-old actor failed to reward staff appropriately after racking up a $350 bill at the Greenwich Village eatery.
Robert - who was in New York to work on his latest movie 'Remember Me' - and his friends arrived at the restaurant at 10pm and sipped bottles of Italian beer and Chianti red wine until they left at midnight.
A source told America's OK! magazine: "They were the last diners to leave."
Despite the disappointing tip, Robert - who tucked into the Caprese salad and the veal Milanese - was described as "nice and friendly" by waiting staff.
In the US, it is customary for diners to give staff at least an additional 15 per cent on top of the bill total. American waiting staff rely heavily on their tips due to the low hourly rates they usually receive.
Does anyone else think this is completely nonsense? The tip he left was an incredible $2.50 short of the 'expected' amount - obviously this makes him a modern day Scrooge! But the ridiculousness of that aside, why should diners have to make up the shortfall in the wages of waiting staff? I think it's unbelievably arrogant to assume you deserve to receive 15% of the cost of every meal as standard. A tip should be a voluntary contribution reflecting how good you believe the service was.
