I like the job Nathan Robinson did on this topic with his essay "Service With A Smile" at Current Affairs: > In every restaurant, except a buffet (and I am not

I like the job Nathan Robinson did on this topic with his essay "Service With A Smile" at Current Affairs: > In every restaurant, except a buffet (and I am not pro-buffet), I feel like an aristocrat who pays someone to put on his clothes for him. I know I can supposedly mitigate this by being polite and tipping well. But it’s the whole concept of paying someone to feed me that I don’t like. Yes, obviously, it’s better if I pay someone well than if I pay them badly, and better to be appreciative than abusive. It doesn’t make any more of a difference to my gut reaction, though, any more than it would if I found out that the millionaire who pays a valet to tie his cravats for him is extremely generous in compensating said valet.