Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

Funny story. I used to see Steve almost every weekday for a couple of years.

I can't speak to his business skills, but I can attest that he never once offered a tip for his daily black iced tea. We'd even have it ready for him before he showed up so he never had to wait! He would pay with cash, and I'd hand him his change and drink, and that was that.

It's funny to me now: one of the richest men in the world and he never once offered a tip.

Frugality aside, he was always very polite and warm so I can't be mad. Makes for a good ice breaker story.

Edit: holy moly, this is a sensitive subject. Please remember this was from a time before tipflation. Tipping meant you left your change behind once in a while only if you felt the desire to show appreciation. It wasn't an obligation. Yes, I still do think it's a funny story. Roast me for being entitled lol

>> We'd even have it ready for him before he showed up so he never had to wait!

> Man, your entitlement just makes me want to never tip.

Urban legend has it that the word "tips" is an acronym for "to insure prompt service." Whether or not this is true, the OP's optimization for "prompt service", as defined above, makes an assessment of same qualifying as entitlement puzzling.

> Just because someone has the ability to pay you money doesn’t mean you earned it.

See again the effort of having the drink ready before the customer was on premise.

In the US tipping isn’t just a cultural expectation. There are fundamental legal differences between tipped and non-tipped employees. For example, federal minimum wages for tipped employees are close to $2 vs the $7 for non tipped employees.