[NT!]

i don't know if i would stiff the first guy if it's the cashier's fault and not the server. staff who don't work for tips sometimes don't care about screwing over the waitstaff, sucks when that happens.

the only time i have ever totally stiffed somebody was at a bar / restaurant in a fairly seedy part of cancun when we got stranded there during hurricane ivan a few years back. lousy service the whole time, and then they ignored us for like twenty minutes while we tried to get the bill. place wasn't even crowded. i flagged a guy down and asked for it and still didn't get it. we guessed the price (erring on the side of lowball), left it mostly in change, and bounced.

i worked in the restaurant industry for a long time so i am pretty forgiving, especially when i go to a place a lot. i'm finding that it doesn't matter that much in NYC though like it does in small towns, they just don't care as much here and they aren't likely to remember you.