Excellent! But what if the tip is $8.00. Round up or down? I know! None of my business. 😄😄😄

Because that's how I was raised. Because I used to be a waitress and know how lousy of a job it can be. Because restaurant employers are ALLOWED to pay below the regular minimum wage, and expect wait staff to earn their "commission" paid directly by the customer.

Jesus is fiction. Caesar is what I sometimes ask my server, who I tip, as the salad with my entree.

A lot of jobs cab be lousy. And you should realize more than most that it is the employers who use this scam to gouge customers while coming and controlling employees. A tip is a gratuity or gift of gratitude. It is NOT and was never intended as a "commission", which is a sales bonus the [B]employer[B] pays, out of the profit from the sale. Not paying proper competition for work done and passing that responsibility onto a third party, the customer, is (IMHO) irresponsible, unethical, and should be illegal. Unfortunately, the (IMHO) twisted little weasel restaunteurs have recruited many of the servers by allowing tipping to turn into a cash cow which they can take advantage of. Employers in many establishments monitor tips and expect portions to also support other workers. Busses, food runners (the person that appear out of nowhere with your food), and who knows how many others. The business model from Hell.
I go to buy ... a car. I talk to many people and buy a car. I pay for the car and drive away. The business pays it's employees. Not me. The business pays the bonus! NOT ME.

I understand that one can only know what has been revealed to one, but no, Jesus is not fiction. There are a lot of historic and archeological indications that there was such a person. As to where exactly he is right now, well there are various thoughts but generally most Christians believe he is at the right hand of the Father.
But I believe I am not saying something new to you.

And AGAIN, the solution is very, very simple. When you go to a restaurant that typically accepts tips (not Chipotle or McD's) add 20% to the total and let the business figure out who gets it. As it is, you accuse the business of taking your tip and distributing it in some unknown way... but that is exactly what your car dealer does.

So treat the restaurant like somewhat like your car dealer: Even though the business doesn't take it upon itself to include it, leave 20% more than the bill and let the business distribute it as it chooses.

The difference is that, legally, any tip you leave is the property of the server. If the restaurant owner does anything else with it, they are violating the law.

Not just the server but can't include management. There are rules....


But that isn't the point. The point is the user I commented to didn't want to feel obligated or coerced to tip. He wanted the same feeling he gets at a car dealership. So ok, add the 20% the business neglected to include and leave it at that.

Just to clarify, some people think tips can be pooled and shared with the kitchen staff. This is not true. If tips are pooled, they can only be shared with other servers or other "tipped" employees. Tipped employees are treated differently from non-tipped employees for income tax purposes.

Are you alluding to possible unreported income?
I wonder, if a tip is "income: ie wage or salary? Or is a tip actually a "gratuity" or gift, legally speaking. Reporting income is, basically required. Not so with gifts up to a certain amount. 2,000 gift at @ $30.00 each. Reported separately, if at all, I would assumel.🫠

The IRS has already determined that tip income received by servers in restaurants is taxable income. It is not a gift. They have established special tax reporting procedures for this income. Before the new 2025 law, restaurants were required to provide a W-2 form to their servers showing taxable tip income equal to 8 percent of the gross sales of the restaurant. The servers can either pay tax on this amount or they can provide detailed records to prove that their tip income for the year was less than the 8 percent, and be subject to an IRS audit. That is one reason why tipped employees cannot be required to share their tip income with non-tipped employees.

At the auto seller the price is negotiated before I am given the keys and the money changes hands. No "ups", no "expectations, implied or otherwise is placed on me. In the restaurant, I make my selection (like the dealer). I recieve it and , hopefully, enjoy it (unlike the dealer). I pay the bill (price of meal + tax (like at the dealer). What? Did I forget something? The server/sales person? Oh, the tip/bonus for bringing the car/food out and the taste test drive, showing me the selections/options and ensuring I like my choice. What? No, I didn't need to negotiate with the manager as price and tax was clearly posted for all to see. Bonusgratuitytip for sales person/server. The business didn'tthink to factor in the cost of service? Sounds like poor planning. A recipe for failure. WHat shall we do? Guess we will have to close ... unless we can con the rubes into paying for our service out off their pockets and we keep our costs down and lower tax liability. Great scam, I mean scheme. Frame it as a noble act of generosity! They'll eat it up.

That's NOT a solution. That is the victim Appling their own bandaid when what is needed is complete restructuring.

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Summation
 

The American practice of tipping can be good for some here in the states, but maybe restaurant owners need to do something differently and get in line with the rest of the globe. They need to just pay waitresses what the rest of the staff is paid and be done with it. European restaurants adapt by not staying open all day with waiters hanging around.