[cntainer]

Management is punishing waitstaff by underpaying them and then blaming the customers for not tipping enough.

[safety1st]

This is the correct understanding. Management is pitting labor and the customers against each other with this system, for the purpose of screwing them both. The correct answer is to tip zero and leave a comment to the effect of "You need to pay your employees more, not pass that responsibility to me." Employees may not be thrilled with this but it will direct at least part of their ire toward management. Putting as much pressure on management from as many parties as possible is the only solution.

[anamexis]

Do you expect this to actually work?

In practice, a small amount of people will not tip in protest, leading to the employees to make less money, and management will not care.

[kofejnik]

And tipping enables it