I think it's supposed to be some kind of authentic thing or some kind of indication of quality or something. I absolutely hate it and like you it generally just leads me to picking something else, even though I absolutely LOVE shrimp and many of the dishes that are frequently served tail on.
Fun fact, I was a prep cook at Outback Steakhouse when I was 22 years old and as the newest person on the prep cook team my duties included turning about 150lbs of potatoes into fries by using a wall mounted fry press to cut the potatoes into fries, then soak them once to remove starch, then a second time to rinse, then do an initial fry on them (super al dente) , They would be fried again before serving. That was the first thing I did. Once the sinks were cleared from the potatoes I would start thawing shrimp. I then cleaned and peeled between 50 and 75 lbs of jumbo shrimp once they were thawed. Then portioned them out onto skewers and put the shrimp seasoning on them. That's how I ended my day. Between the potatoes and the shrimp thawing I grated cheese, measured out veggie sides, removed the membrane from about 12 racks of ribs, rubbed them with seasoning and then pressure cooked them (they were also finished before serving that night), I've got to say, Whatever you might think of outback steakhouse, I'd eat there. The food we prepped that day got served that day or discarded. There was no stockpile of week old fries or ribs or shrimp. It was a prep in the morning, serve it that night situation. Start fresh the next day.
