[pnh102]

Now you have made it clear that you don’t like to eat at higher end restaurants, and that’s fine. But the way that wait staff is paid in the U.S. means they make more money that most wait staff in other countries.

How do you reach that conclusion? If this was true, why do not see more people make careers out of waiting, which seems to be prevalent in other countries as well?

But the waiters and waitresses that work at higher end eateries would not be thrilled with your idea of what is “fair”. They would be looking for a new line of work as soon as they could and we would no longer have the best of the best in the wait staff game.

Then perhaps their employers should consider paying them more money, which is how it works in other jobs.

Fine dining in the U.S. would suffer, and many restaurants would go out of business as poor service would drive customers away.

This is a silly conclusion. As other posters have pointed out, there are plenty of fine restaurants in countries which do not practice tipping and they seem to be doing just fine.

[Trailerpark Badass]

How do you reach that conclusion? If this was true, why do not see more people make careers out of waiting, which seems to be prevalent in other countries as well?

Because it's a high-energy business, with late hours that make it difficult to have normal family life. Ask me how I know.

As for other countries, yes it's nice to see older men, in nice uniforms, clustered around the kitchen door. When they do decide to serve you, it's often with a deliberate professionalism that can say "unhurried competence" or "studied indifference," depending on your perspective (I base this impression on numerous fine dining experiences throughout Europe, specifically).

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Hit the buffett and don’t dine at nice places if that’s for you. But don’t try to determine what is “fair” for people’s whose line of work you think is worthless.