It's not complicated, if you can't afford to leave a whopping $4 gratuity for a $20 meal, then don't go to a sit-down restaurant and take your ass to McDonald's.
Imagine spending $200 on a meal and not leaving a tip. You can afford to waste that much money on a meal but you can't afford to tip?
Tips are to be earned. They are not 'mandatory.' If you want a tip, you have to work for it. It is perfectly fine to go out for a fancy dinner and not tip if the service was not up to par.
That said, why is it that 'tipping' is based on a percentage of the meal? A server bringing a $10 meal is doing the same work as one bringing a $50 meal, are they not?
No. A $50 meal has far more to it and usually indicates a group larger than 1 or two...
If you're somewhere where a $50 meal has the same value/quantity as a $10 meal, wtf are you doing with your money?
Uh... no. Different quality food makes a difference in cost. A server does not cook the food, they merely take the order and bring it out to you. It is the same amount of work to do this on a $10 meal as it does a $50 meal.
I guess I should've stated per plate costs. PER PLATE it is the same amount of work.
More people to serve means higher work volume. More plates, more work. Thus, higher tip for the increased effort. And as stated before, the cook is being paid properly already. The server is not.
Working to serve a group of six is vastly different from serving one or two and much more intensive.
...That is not the point I am arguing. A $50 plate is the same work as a $10 plate. Why does the $50 plate result in a larger tip?
And kitchen staff are often NOT paid 'properly.' ---