Well, this issue warrants some commentary. I grew up in the restaurant industry as a son of a Greek immigrant restauranteur, and as a worker in various restaurants in St. Louis as an adolescent and a young man.
I lived off tips and support the concept philosophically and monetarily. I'm not against nontaxed tips, but I question giving the same tip amounts from my taxed income to those not paying taxes on those wages. I think tipping 15-20% for a sit down experience is reasonable already. And of course, every time one buys a coffee or many other items from even fast casual places with no real service, there is often someone literally staring at me when the screen displays tip amounts (that are starting at 20% more and more!).
I'm getting kind of burnt out on the customer carrying the load for the industry. I am much more tolerant of maw n paws and even local franchises, and have little problems with prices and tips to support these types of businesses that are essential to our local culture and economy . But we are being taken advantage of by large corporations that can skim back on their wages while counting on tips to carry the day. Its simply gone over board in recent years in my opinion.
I already know what my course of action will be. But I wonder how others feel about this.