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by saiya-jin 851 days ago
Ah yes the digital-only menu, one of more idiotic cargo-culting moves (although not sure who they are actually following here, maybe just general zeitgeist). I try to politely suggest that this is their weak spot when paying and tip accordingly.
4 comments
ryandrake 851 days ago
I would just walk out and find a different restaurant. Restaurants are a dime a dozen, and we rarely go out specifically to a particular one. Fortunately I have run into just one restaurant in my life that did not have paper menus and there was a different one that looked great across the street. Problem solved.
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nradov 851 days ago
The waitstaff who receive tips aren't the ones who make menu format decisions.
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haswell 851 days ago
Pushing back against digital-only menus is a good thing, IMO. But the person you're tipping likely has zero control over this.
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elevatedastalt 851 days ago
Unfortunately the incentive structures of tipping are all over the place anyway.

Of all the people in the restaurant that contribute to my experience eating out, the waiter probably offers the least differentiation (in my humble opinion). It's just a transport layer for the order. The food is made by line staff, the menu is designed by someone else. The overall music, lighting, ambience, decor is someone else. But culturally, the waiter is the one we are expected to tip.

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haswell 851 days ago
Embedded in that culture is the fact that the wait staff is often (legally) paid far less than the other people involved, and that their survival depends on those tips.

The pricing of the meal is what pays for the music, lighting, ambience and decor.

I'm not saying any of this makes sense, or that I think it's a good system, but I know too many people who rationalize poor tipping because they disagree with a system that the wait staff has no power to control.

I want the system to change, but I also don't feel that it's right to protest against it at the expense of the people least able to do anything about it.

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pixl97 851 days ago
Eh I do have to say this is grandpa yelling at the clouds territory. Printed menus tend to be fair expense, especially where you have 3+ daily menus and weekend menus. Couple that with items that go out of stock a digital menu that stays up to date is great.

Should the place have a few menus printed out on paper, probably. But the number of people that demand paper is rather low.

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