"having hidden fees (tips) isn't the answer." Tips are not hidden fees. In fact if the tip isn't included as part of the charge it isn't even legally required

"having hidden fees (tips) isn't the answer." Tips are not hidden fees. In fact if the tip isn't included as part of the charge it isn't even legally required to be paid either. "The amount the customers pay would stay the same." If a businesses expenses go up then their profit goes down. So they either have to accept less profit or they need to raise prices. Please explain another scenario. I'm not talking about some outlier where something else out of the ordinary happened for some other non duplicatable reason. Or how a particular business may charge less than another because they make it up on volume. (There are many particulars to why a business might operate at a different cost structure (location, suppliers as only two examples). "Sometimes I'd prefer to save a few dollars and walk to the kitchen window and get my own food." Ok I see where you are going with this. Have you ever seen what others prefer to do and how actual restaurants operate? It seems that most people don't prefer to "walk to the kitchen window and get their own food".