Originally Posted by
bigguyinpasadena
"If 15% pretax is still fairly "standard", then why do almost all restaurants include an 18% gratuity?
Perhaps so that they can continue tip escaleation to further escape having to pay labor a fair wage?
An industry does not set the standard price=that is not legal(especially something as voulantary as tipping)the consumer does.
It seems strange to punish the server for the restaurants' policies. I can't help WHERE my income comes from. This whole "it's not my problem" argument seems to be a way to justify your own frugality. It's amazing how $1 or $2 bucks will be able to cheer someone up instead of making them mad. ($4 tip on $30 = disappointing, $6 tip on $30 = rewarding). Most of the time it's not even the money itself but just the principle of the matter.
Chris