05/11/2026
Interesting post. What are your thoughts on this tip? Tipping in general and should the scale automatically continue regardless of price?
People get weirdly defensive anytime someone questions tipping culture, but the math honestly starts looking ridiculous once restaurant prices get high enough.
I had a dinner bill come out to over $5,000.
And immediately the expectation became:
“So you’re leaving another thousand dollars too, right?”
Why?
Seriously — why?
The server didn’t build the restaurant.
They didn’t personally raise the cattle.
They didn’t perform a live concert at the table.
They took the order.
Brought the food out.
Refilled drinks.
Checked in a few times.
Which is… the same core job servers do at literally every restaurant.
So why does the expected tip explode purely because the menu prices are inflated?
That’s the question nobody wants to answer honestly.
Because somehow society decided that if a steakhouse charges luxury prices, customers are morally expected to hand over an extra amount equivalent to a mortgage payment just to avoid being labeled “cheap.”
And before the usual comments roll in:
“No one forced you to eat there.”
“Stay home if you can’t afford it.”
“Servers rely on tips.”
Okay.
Cool.
None of that actually answers the question.
I’m not saying servers deserve nothing.
I’m not anti-tip.
I’m not arguing against rewarding great service.
What I’m questioning is the automatic assumption that tips should endlessly scale with menu prices even when the actual service experience barely changes.
Because at some point the system stops feeling connected to service quality and starts feeling like social pressure attached to expensive food.
And honestly, people know this deep down.
That’s why tipping conversations get emotional so fast.
Because most people aren’t defending the logic —
they’re defending the social expectation.
Nobody wants to be seen as the bad guy.
Nobody wants the awkward stare.
Nobody wants the manager walking over.
Nobody wants to be judged at the table.
So people pay the percentage because it’s easier than challenging the norm.
But if we’re being real…
Does carrying a $300 steak actually require ten times more effort than carrying a $30 burger?
Or have we all just normalized a system nobody’s comfortable questioning out loud anymore?
