Yeah, I do not subscribe to some of these people who say if you can't afford to tip at 25% minimum you can't afford to go out. Some even put that percentage higher. I usually go 20% as the standard and often round up. But if service is truly horrible I have no qualms about giving them 10% and letting them know why.I used to share your penchant for tipping but service standards have widely gotten horrendous at the same time that 20% is seen as standard.
I sat next to a guy at a bar with horrible service and said anymore things start at 20% and can only go down. That said there’s still some surprise cases where someone goes above and beyond and I will as well.
But people can earn and deserve 0-5% tips and I’ll give it to them if they really want it.
Also if I am standing at a counter to order my food I ain't putting a tip on the credit card before I even know how they did. I will usually leave a couple of bucks for the people who have to clean up after us at a buffet but I'm not tipping 20%+ - a full service tip for partial service.