I think more than one party can be at fault at the same time, but it also depends on the situation.

For example. Google maps kept taking rideshare drivers to the wrong entrance of my apartment complex. When I say “wrong,” I mean “nonexistent.” So multiple uber drivers were literally pulling over on the side of a busy street near a freeway on ramp with no bike lane or shoulder. They’d hit their flashers and stop in the middle of the road, blocking the on ramp lane. I’m in the actual parking lot, not tracking them in the app, so I don’t know they’re around the corner. I had two drivers just leave. Did they let me know they were going to cancel and drive away? Fuck no. The actual parking lot and driveway is only a few yards away. If they don’t pass right by it, they can at least see the driveway. I mean, come on. Use your brain.

After the first time this happened, I tried to move the pin in the app, but it just kept sending drivers to the same place. I started texting them after they accepted the ride, but not all would see it. I contacted google and the pickup spot did change - to a back entrance on the opposite side of the complex that has no parking lot or place to stop unless you have a gate opener. For fuck’s sake.

Anyway, it’s both of their faults.

They definitely have it in other California cities too. And not just in restaurants.

A chain resale/consignment hipster shop in NorCal started adding a percentage service charge years ago with the same excuse, and you’d only find out about it if you looked at your receipt. The fucked up part is that they also raised their prices so high that I couldn’t shop there anymore. It’s one of those buy/sell/trade clothing stores, so the whole point was to pay less for decent clothes. But if they’re already raising prices significantly, why the fuck do they need yet another charge to pay their workers.

I also think they really must believe it makes them seem “progressive” somehow. Like “oh look, we’re on the workers’ side!” and they hope no one eating/shopping there will think about it any more deeply than that.

I agree. I once forgot the book I was reading when I went on a trip, so I found it on internet archive for the time I was traveling. Reading a novel on there is just obnoxious, because they have short time limits for borrowing, which I forget if it’s an hour or half hour. Either way, it’s good for reference books, not so much for novels.