Refusing to tip or tipping less does affect restaurant bosses, but the effect is one step removed. By not tipping or leaving smaller tips, customers reduce the

Refusing to tip or tipping less does affect restaurant bosses, but the effect is one step removed. By not tipping or leaving smaller tips, customers reduce the total take-home pay of the servers, which pressures restaurant bosses to increase the base wage in order to retain the servers. On the other hand, leaving excessively high tips encourages restaurant bosses to keep the base wage low, since you are relieving the bosses of the market pressure to pay a competitive wage.