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by haswell 855 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.
1 comments

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.

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.