Don't Let Grandma Pay

Maybe Grandma's spoiled you for your entire life. Or maybe she's never been nice and is finally trying to show some generosity by taking you and your family out for a lovely dinner. This should not be allowed to happen, unless the following conditions apply:

• Grandma can foot the bill, but the gratuity must be supervised. A subtle peek to ensure that the minimum 15% has been applied will do. If you're on close terms, you can remind her that the going rate for tipping has in fact changed since WWII.
• Make sure you bring cash with you to the dinner. This is essential when you have to slip the server a crisp bill when Grandma has provided nothing over 10%.

Truth be told, you really shouldn't be letting your grandmother pay for anything at all. She's had a long, difficult life and she deserves to be treated a lot more than you do. Conversely, if you do wave away her credit card, make sure she doesn't get away with saying, "Well I'll take care of the tip then, dear." Unacceptable - unless she's a liberal 20% tipping kind of grandmother, of course.