Yes it's weird. It's basically charity re-framed as capitalism. As if it's the waiter's performance which determines their tip as opposed to just blind luck. I

Yes it's weird. It's basically charity re-framed as capitalism. As if it's the waiter's performance which determines their tip as opposed to just blind luck. If each waiter could provide their own menu on which they could set their own prices individually and take their own hidden cut, then that would be fair capitalism. They'd make a lot more money because consumers would be too lazy or too embarrassed to ask a different waiter for their version of the menu... That would be a much better culture for workers. Unfortunately the current system is set up to make every form of payment for labor into a charity. So workers are always in the position of begging their boss or customers and they are never in the position of intermediating transactions.