I had a $10 lunch recently plus $1 tax (our rate here is 9.3%) plus $2 tip. If RN skimmed half, leaving the restaurateur with the the remaining $6.50, out of which he had to pass through the tax and tip, he netted barely 1/3 of the menu price! Even assuming they let him have the full tip amount to pay the server (I cannot see any way they could possibly "de-skim" the sales tax as it is included in the pre-tip amount), which I very much doubt as we get miles on the added tips, that's still a serious bite, that would get worse as diners spend more and the owner subsidizes more tax!

From an owner's perspective, it seems the program might have been tolerable back when all joints were 1x'ers. The unlimited visits, with promo frenzy, must wreak havoc with their operating budgets.