It's a cynical view but certainly not 1-dimensional. Money for tips isn't an issue here.

In this case, the friends at the table receive their bill from the top bureaucrat rather than directly. The bureaucrat tells them what they owe. It's more than what the bill calls for, but if they don't like it, they can go to another table where there is another top bureaucrat running the same scheme (more or less).

Out of topic, but what does "stuffing on tips" mean? (not a native and google didn't help.

Sorry it was intended to be "stiffing".

Usually when a group grows to a certain size, somebody will decide that rather than chipping in $30, because they "just had a salad", they'll toss in $12.95 for the salad, skip tax and tip and disappear.

Interesting. I can understand that they don't feel obliged to pay the tip, but how do they justify not paying the tax?

Are prices in US restaurants given net, instead of gross?

At least prices in Canada are net, tax is added when paying.

Interesting. In Poland, and most EU places I've been to, the prices in restaurants and stores are almost universally gross, to make it easier for the buyer to know how much they'll pay.

Yeah, I got surprised a few time when I was there to study. Also the "mandatory" tipping was unusual, compared to Europe

Wait, what? We don't have mandatory tipping in Poland; it's always discretionary.

I was not clear, sorry. I was still talking about Canada, where it is expected to add 30% of the price as tip.

It's probably a typo for "stiffing", i.e. not paying the tips at all, or paying too little.

I think how it goes is you collect the money. The other diners include tips and tend to round up. You take their tips and use it to pay your own bill. The waiter/restaurant lose their tips, your friends lose face and are tricked out of they're generosity, you get food for no money.

On a side note, he wouldn't be a friend for very long if I knew the tool didn't tip.