What I did not respond fast enough for you? or did you forget that you asked me the same question in an earlier post? ;)
Obviously one does not know the 'career' of every one he waits on. But some are easy to spot:
Cops/firemen, nurses or doctors and teachers are examples. My comments were made based on my experiences mostly with lunches, when people do talk business and one gets a sense of what they do for a living. This is especially true when you see the same groups time and time again.
As for dinner guest, that was different, but here are some guidelines, I garnered over the years:
Older men with younger women usually tip well.
Women together, rarely tip well.
Expense accounts...... usually big bucks!
If the wife pays, the tip will be lousy
Prom nighters.......... better off to take that night off
Saturday night = amateur night
Sunday night - you will work half as hard as you did on Saturday and make the same dollars.
Your breakdown is correct, but you neglected to add the value of noticing the watch, shoes, tie.
Hmmph. I go out with my female friends every couple months or so, and we generally tip around 20%. If you've ever waited tables, you don't stiff the waitress.
Worst tippers? In my limited experience, the friends of the boss. In high school, I worked in one restaurant where a LOT of the boss's friends came in. They got their discount by not tipping. I quit after six weeks.
First dates--best tips of all. I agree with you on husbands tipping better than wives, with the caveat: IF they're dining with their children and you go out of your way to keep the kids happy nad relatively quiet, the mom will go out of her way to tip you big. Worked that way for me, at least.