Umm...waiter...?

Here’s a report about a study in the Journal of Consumer Research that describes the noxious power of little white lies.

Diners who are dissatisfied with their experience – but who are too bashful to complain to the restaurant – actually tend to leave larger tips for their servers.

Why?  The unconscious effects of cognitive dissonance.  The larger tip is our way of persuading ourselves that the meal was really OK, after all.