The reason for tipping (that I've heard) is that servers/busboys/bartenders etc. are critically underpaid, so tips are how they stay afloat. That's fine, I'm all for tipping &gt;%20 on good service, especially if busy or special order or split check or whatever. Even as a broke student, I know that if I have enough money to go out, I have enough money to tip.

My question stems from a small ice cream shop in Kirkland, WA that lives under a staircase. The owner was definitely the only person working there at the time (literally a one room store), possibly the only employee, and when I bought my ice cream (affogato, which is justly priced higher than a double scoop in a cup), I didn't tip. I ate in his store while there talking to him, and we talked about his previous life as a new orleans bartender and server and the associated tip economy there. Now, as an owner of an independent store, working for himself, setting his own prices, in my opinion he's in a different segment of the restaurant world. **Am I The Asshole for not tipping on my ice cream purchase?** In a situation of a small single owner-run restaurant, is a tip expected?