One other thing I found very strange in this set-up, is that the people actually cooking my food, the line cooks and such, are the reason I go to the restaurant in the first place. And most of the time, they don't get to take part in the tipping game. And in my city, the dichotomy between the two is insane. In almost any decent sit-down restaurant; the cooks are mostly latino, but the FOH is invariable young, good looking wipipo. Now, service is important, don't get me wrong. But I go to the place for food mostly. I have never been back to a place that had bad food but great service. OTOH, I have gone back to places with great food but mediocre-to-bad service. So ... why are the people making my food not a part of this tipping game?

I hope this spurs more places to get rid of waiting all-together. Even mid-scale places. Invest in i-pad equivalent to place your order, get a message when your food's ready and you go to the counter and pick it up yourself. Maybe hire one or two peeps to keep an eye on the space, fill up water jugs etc.