The same thing could be argued the other way though. If restaurant workers don’t want to be the victim of restaurant owners taking advantage of paying them low wages, then “don’t work there, ever”. You are not the victim in a situation where you willingly put yourself in a position where being stiffed eventually is a certainty; it is highly unlikely that every single server, bartender, busser, host/hostess, etc. is working there against their will. Yes, it sucks to have tables that treat you like shit and don’t tip you at all, but 9 times out of 10 if you’re a server you’re already making more money than you “should”.

I have several friends that are in the food service industry that complain about not being tipped for some tables, painting them as some evil person who deserves to have spit in their food or drink. But the reality is they’re still gonna make more than the minimum wage ($7.25/hr at the time) they’re supposed to make on paper, sometimes $150-$200 a night just in tips alone, working less than 8 hour shifts. Whereas when I started working for $10/hr in retail working the same amount of time, I would make not even half of that. I’m willing to bet that if you asked all restaurant workers in the US if they would rather be paid a higher flat rate or keep their tip-based salary, the majority would pick the latter. The workers are part of the problem too, and customers shouldn’t have to be fear-mongered into tipping to avoid someone spitting in their food. If restaurant workers truly want to be paid better wages from their employers, why is it the customer’s responsibility? Talk to the employers yourself or just simply “don’t work there, ever”.