By leaving a small tip, he was sending a message to the driver that he was displeased with the service. Not leaving a tip at all would not send that message.
Some folks I know who wait tables earn in excess of $750/1k a week…for basically part-time work.
I am sure they would be all for a $15/hour minimum wage, as long as tips were still on the table. However, $15/hour and “we don’t accept tips” sign…you would get a big nope. I doubt you could convince them that it would be better for them to earn $300 for their 20 hours of work.
In Europe we are still tipping, but the waiters do not depend on it. This is a much sweeter situation if you ask me, voluntary good service, vs. forced good service, when you have to worry about rent for the next month.
The outrage is that people are under the assumption that these wait staff in the US are NOT earning minimum wage. That is incorrect. Wait staff will earn the minimum wage for the time worked, because if tips+pre tip wage is less than the legal minimum, the employer makes up the difference. They have a real benefit over the other minimum wage earners because they can earn more…much much more in some places.
The question of should their employer pay them more per hour? Well, I think the market does a pretty good job of managing that, especially now that in many places in the country restaurants are having a hard time finding the help they need. If I need a server, and my offer is I’ll guarantee them at least $10/hour…that is going to attract workers to me over the restaurant next door offering only $7.5/ hour. If I am fully staffed with good servers, I can attract the customers who will pay my tip earners for me compared to the place next door with lousy service.