Also from the US. I think tipping is getting out of hand. Remember when the recommended tips in restaurants were 10%, up to 15% if the service was phenomenal? Now 18% is expected, and some places even pre-calculate it for you.
Tipping should be for services that are requested, not a part of normal employment. It upsets me when salaried people with full benefits, aka the longshoremen who take your bags from your car and load them into containers to be sent aboard ship, expect to be tipped on top of the UNION salary and benefits. It costs more in tips than taxi fare to get from baggage claim in FLL to the point where you've dropped your bags at the terminal. That's ridiculous.