
At least where I am, there are some important and influential positions that are on a volunteer basis, and literally all you do is email someone in the town, say “I’m interested in this board/committee”, and they’re like “cool we meet every other Wednesday, see you then”.
I definitely encourage anyone who is pissed off at feeling powerless to look at your town or city’s website, see what boards and committees might interest you, and start showing up.
That would be quite optimistic, but this is something I’ve noticed at multiple restaurants myself. I saw the tip “suggestions” were not accurate so I checked to see what numbers they might have been using and tried the after tax amount etc, but nope the numbers are just inflated artificially. It’s happened with or without alcohol on the tab, with and without sale items, and I don’t ever really get anything “comped” unless it’s a sauce on the side or something. I wouldn’t say it’s a scam, but I did roll my eyes the first time I noticed it.