Let me start by saying I always tip 20% or more. But I was wondering, what’s the difference if the server brings me a plate with an $8 burger vs if it was a $50 steak?
In: Economics
It’s a sales driving tactic for the wait staff. Even outside of like corporate restaurants, waiters are incentivized to upsell you.
So not only are they being fucked by low wages, they are also (essentially) forced to participate in the system that is screwing them for owner profit.
In general, restaurants don’t have that kind of price differential between their entrees. A place with an $8 burger is more likely to have a $15 steak. The restaurants with a $50 steak tend to have a $30 burger.
Because of that, in general if a table has a bigger bill it means one of two things:
* The people stayed longer and ordered more food
* The table had a larger group and ordered more food
Either way, the waiter had to work more at that table than a table that ordered less. Tips are to cover parts of their wage the restaurant owner isn’t paying, so it makes more sense that if a table requires more work the burden should be greater.
Yeah, it breaks down if one table just orders the most expensive things on the menu. But price disparities like you laid out don’t tend to be very common.
Because the more expensive the meal, the higher the expectations for service. If I’m at a fancy steakhouse, I want an experienced professional waiter, not some high school kid.
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