A) those tips are pooled (thus the management is taking a cut)
B) those tips are taxed.
Therefore at least in most of Europe its better to drop some cash. if you are tipping.
Not sure if it is the same in the US.
EDIT: did I say something wrong or controversial?
> A tipped employee engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage. If the employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.
(US Dept. of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/wagestips)
Say, within an hour, I receive a meal. I decide to choose between tipping $0 or $4; the result of which is:
I tip $0: The business pays $7.25 for the hour of work; the employee gains $7.25
I tip $4: The business pays $3.25 for the hour of work; the employee gains $7.25
That tips are taxed … yeah? so? The Man gets his cut, always.
The part that's iffy is what happens afterward. If it's as simple as handing a bill to someone who has helped you out, great, that's the ideal. But if that person is required to pool that money (for example - a restaurant might require servers to pool tips, cash or credit, so that busboys and the kitchen get a cut) there's probably no avoiding the shenanigans the restaurant's management might engage in.