You could be correct in your iPad/serve yourself theory.
I just do not think it will fly. We do not dine out to eat, we dine out to relax in a different atmosphere. Good food, a nice setting, and the waitress that “waits” on us is all apart of the mix. If the service is good, I do not object to paying a good tip.
If that iPad/serve yourself thing ever materializes, it will be McDonalds or just plain cooking a good meal at home.
He earns a small salary... more when he's in the store than when he's out delivering. They clock him in and out for deliveries.
He has to turn over his tips after every run... he puts them in a box or something... then they are paid to him each night, along with a modest flat-rate stipend for each run he makes as vehicle compensation.
His salary is so small that he hardly ever gets a check worth noticing, since that is withheld for tax. Basically, he lives off tips.