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We learned his schedule, we made sure to make his drink so it would be ready on time while also handling the hundreds of other orders in the morning rush. This is something we tried to do for every regular customer with a fixed order.
I'd argue that this sort of thing is well within the bounds of what was 'tippable' service back then.
But to be clear, tips weren't expected then like they are now. It was an infrequent thing. If you dropped your ~15¢ change into the jar once or twice a month, you were a generous tipper.
We served Steve for many years and he was definitely an outlier. He wasn't the only other customer that never tipped. But he was the only one that was famously rich, which is what made it so amusing to us.
There’s a place that does this less than a block from me right now. Actually probably 2-3 places if you extend a block further.
This mostly happens at smaller stores and not big chains.
Which doesn't seem like it should be a big problem in an already not tip-heavy, but there are a surprising number of people who make a very big show of not being able to tip because there's no credit option.
If you're served by a human and tips are not included in normal pay by law, you tip.
If it's a country where people can't live with just the one job, you tip a lot.
Coffee bars are a grey area. If I'm ordering something fancy, I'll probably tip. If I'm getting a cup of black joe from an urn of pre-made coffee, I may or may not.
I'll continue to tip well for people working in traditionally tipped positions. The last few years have seen companies attempt to massively expand that list of positions so that their employees get paid more without their bosses having to pay for it. Those cheapskates can give their workers raises instead of turfing it off onto us.
Tipping everybody who you hand cash to is crazy. And the US is the only place where you have to do it for a large percentage of that population.
There are a set of pretty arbitrary customs about where you tip and where you don't tip. You would be considered a weirdo if you tipped at the grocery store. In the US, you have to tip at sit-down restaurants.
Traditionally, in the US, people rarely tipped when they had to go to the counter to order and pick up food.
That's just the custom, though it seems to be rapidly changing, so that basically any food or drink service now involves tipping.