Tipping Etiquite

I realize that this is a much over-discussed topic in todays society, but I can't help myself from blogging about it. I personally think that there should be a rule book on tipping etiquite, written by an unbiassed author. Maybe I will write this book and make millions!
Going to Quiznos for supper is what triggered this all. Before I go any further, I have to thank Ryan for introducing me to Quiznos and forcing me to go there for lunch when I really just wanted Subway....I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I am also excited that I will have something to discuss with Travis the next time that we see each other.....with our love for Pita Pit and now this I cannot even fathom how much we have in common. But back to the topic of this blog, there was a tip function when when I paid for my sandwich....a sandwich that took about 1.5 minutes to assemble. Obviously I declined leaving a tip, but I am now obliged to defend myself to all of my blog readers. So here is my personal tipping etiquite and the questions in which I still have:

Rule:
I only tip when people go over and beyond the general duties of their job.

Rationale:
They are already paid for doing the basics.

Many employers also pay employees far less than they are worth (often wages so low that even full time employees are still living below the poverty line), counting on patrons to pick up the tab. I experienced this in university while working as a waitress at a restaurant. At this restaurant, the diswashers felt that they were not getting paid enough for their job and threatened to quit if they did not get a raise. So instead of giving them a raise, the employer developed a new policy saying that waitresses were required to give dishwashers 35% of their tips. This way the dishwashers were content and the employer did not have to foot the costs of wage increases.

Examples:
I do not tip for fast food, as you have to get it yourself, and there is nobody serving you. Also, the essence of fast food is speed, and these employees do not have the time to go over and beyond their basic duties without sacrificing the essence of the establishment. Therfore, according to the rule, they do not get tipped.

I also do not tip for delivery of food. I am either already paying for that with the meal, or there are added charges for delivery. In addition, the delivery drivers are already paid to deliver, so why do I have to tip them? (I am not even going to go into detail about the delivery that Ryan recieved in Jasper when his food arrived by a Chinese man riding a bicycle...I have no rules for that).

I do not tip gas station attendants who pump my gas. I do not even tip if they wash my windshield which is somewhat of an exception to the rule, as I think that this is going over their basic duties of pumping gas (and I must say it makes my day when they wash my windows). I just don't think it is a norm to tip a gas station attendant, and I would feel awkward giving them money. If it was an accepted practice, however, I would tip for this.

I do tip taxi drivers who help me with my groceries. When I was in Whitehorse without a vehicle I would do a big grocery shop once a week, and there was one taxi driver with Premier Cabs that would always help me carry my groceries up a flight of stairs in my building, so I would tip him. However, if they did not help me with my groceries they did not get a tip.

Exceptions:
I always tip waitresses. I am not happy about having to do this, but I think that it is almost unacceptable these days to NOT tip waitresses. However, if I do not feel that they went over and beyond their basic duties, I will leave a very small tip and hope that they get the point.

I always tip my hair dressers if I like the job that they did. It is very hard to judge in this industry whether someone is going over and beyond their basic duties, so if I like it I tip. If I like it, I am also more likely to go back to that person, and knowing that I tip they may put more effort into their job , and I will reap the benefits in the end. I also have very difficult hair that takes more time than the average head of hair would, so I like to reward those patient enough for sticking through the 3 hours it takes to do a color.

Questions (and some attempts at answers):
1-What is the appropriate tipping percentage?
2-Is it acceptable for businesses to charge you for interact transactions? For example, if you buy a smoothie from Booster Juice, is it right that they charge $0.25 to pay by debit? I know that this is not really related to tipping, but it is something that I am not OK with and this seemed like an appropriate place to say so.
3-What is the most appropriate method of tipping? I personally like to tip with cash. I find it offensive to be prompted to tip on an interact machine when the recipient of that tip is standing over you. However, I will tip on a credit card receipt, as this is something that the person will not see until I am gone.
4-Should tip amounts change with seasons and events? For example, should one tip more around Christmas? I do not because I need my money more at this time, so why be giving it away more freely?
5-Is it acceptable to be automatically charged a gratuity when eating out with a large group of people? I do not think this is acceptable, as the server may not necessarily go over and beyond the basic duties. It is also very offensive to me at the Olive Garden when the gratuity is automatically tacked on to your bill, "but they will remove it if you ask for it to be removed".

Well obviously I could just continue on about this topic (hence the book I am going to write), but I think that this is enough for now.