It's expected but that doesn't mean everyone does it. =/ I work in retail though so I find I'm far more sympathetic to those in service jobs. I always tip unless the server gives me a reason not to, which honestly I don't think has ever happened. I guess cause you can more or less tell/guess who else works with customers. I tend to be way more patient and laid back about little things than the average customer. Shit happens, I'm not going to dock someone for it.

As for retail well, I live in one of the few states without a sales tax, so things tend to be even cheaper here. (Provided you don't own a house, lol.) It's nice, but it does suck whenever I travel outside of the state and have to buy something. I always forget about the damn tax. Annoying.

Let's see...prices fluctuate a lot depending on where you buy from. My store sells the cheapest cigarettes around--Marlboros are $5.79 a pack right now. Ironic, given that we're a retail pharmacy. A decent pair of jeans cost around $40ish, I never buy something like that at full price anyway, wait for the sales.

The main problem we have here is that the Marts of the retail world are taking over and forcing out all the smaller independent markets that can be pricier but have better quality and selection. Unless I want to drive 20 minutes out of my way, often the only option is to buy from the local Wal*Mart. There's also very few options outside of large grocery stores, so not much variety and virtually no chance of buying local.