Can you imagine if all stores worked this way?

Hey, the pricetag on the shirt at Walmart says $10, but you should really pay $13 because otherwise they'll just not pay their staff. But hey, your choice, you can (if you choose) cause their staff to have no money for food for their families.

The problem here isn't the person not tipping, it's the broken culture where ensuring a livable wage for the poorest in society is a choice the wealthy get to make based on how they feel today.

It's not that simple. In addition to that effect, you also have the dynamic that people can undertip [1] some amount without consequence. Meaning that price + customary tip will actually have to be higher than the average untipped price, since it doesn't have to make up for the defectors.

[1] specifically, that means tipping under the average and/or in accordance with a lower scale or tougher standards than is generally expected.

That doesn't make sense. You aren't getting lower food prices at all if you are obligated to tip. Rather, the actual prices of restaurant food items are just undermarked by 15-20% of their actual cost.

> the actual prices of restaurant food items are just undermarked by 15-20% of their actual cost.

Right, and it's undermarked because you are expected to tip.

But you said that you get the "benefit" of lower prices - but I just don't see that benefit if it's mandatory to then tip 15%. Whatever reduction in price you're getting you'll pay in tips, so as a customer you're getting shafted either way. No?

You're not getting shafted. If you tip, you're paying the same amount as if there weren't tips and the prices were raised to account for it. There's nothing "shafted" about "paying the same amount".

The only differences are - You can choose to pay less if things aren't good, or pay more if things are great. - If you're someone that is heavily impacted by other people's opinions, then you may feel bad tipping less. But all that means is that you don't get one of the benefits.

You get the "benefit" of lower prices... and you're expected to tip to balance the scales.

Usually the income isn’t being reported by the tip-earner/takers, and you’re not paying sales tax on the service received.

The former is only going to be true if you pay them in cash; I don't believe credit tips are so easy to hide. The latter is inconsequential.

Despite the paper trail, local details of audits I know of, indicated that workers still underreport.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjA...

Anecdotally, it remains true.

Tips don’t go on the official pay reports that go to the Canadian government since it isn’t actually employment income paid by the employer.

Why would sales taxes be inconsequential?

I guess because you're only not paying sales tax on the tip portion of the payment - so if the sales tax is say 10%, your bill was a $100 and you left a $10 tip, you're only saving $1 on the sales tax.

And if that mere dollar would influence you on whether or not you were going to go to the restaurant, you probably shouldn't have ever been going to the restaurant.

It still means an industry is paying ~85% of the sales taxes it should.

Overall, businesses will charge what they can. And if they don’t have to pay taxes, they can keep that $ for themselves.

Tipping is what sustains the practice of underpaying.

Which would be a factor if the sole reason for picking a particular restaurant is lowest price. That's virtually never - if it is, go home and cook. It's cheaper.

The whole tipping system is insane: I'll allow you to provide services in my restaurant and if the customers like you, perhaps you'll earn some money.

I'm still waiting for the restaurant holders to come up with the idea of charging for this unique opportunity. "Don't think of it as paying to be allowed to work, think of it as investing in your revenue-generating activities! !"

> Which would be a factor if the sole reason for picking a particular restaurant is lowest price.

Actually, it wouldn't matter if lowest price was the sole factor for picking a particular restaurant. Because all restaurants would be lowering their prices by the same general percentage.

However, it does impact the choice of whether or not to go out to eat.

Unless you're talking about the case where some restaurants discourage tipping (and charge more) but others don't. In which case, there's many cases of that happening and the restaurants closing or switching back. Because price, which not the sole factor, can be a very important one. It certainly impacts my choice when I go out to eat.

Not just lower food prices, but a smaller tax base and possibly inflated student loans.