How serendipitous! I was just complaining about this exact issue in Seattle (literally in the next tab over.) The 20% charge seems to be engineered to reduce t

How serendipitous! I was just complaining about this exact issue in Seattle (literally in the next tab over.) The 20% charge seems to be engineered to reduce tips while providing no actual information about the treatment of the employees. I went to an amazing vegan restaurant and there was a note on their menu saying they add 20% to the cost and they take care of their employees. I had no idea whether to tip or not (decided to tip), and what 'retained by the owner' but 'paid out to staff as benefits and a fair wage' meant. I'd MUCH rather have the menu say, "Our prices reflect paying our workers a strong wage, we encourage you not to tip." (See Molly Moons, a local ice cream shop that eliminated tipping: https://www.mollymoon.com/tipfree https://www.mollymoon.com/tipfree) To the point that I'm unlikely to return to businesses that pull this 'service fee' shenanigans.