<human>: I'm from Australia, where tipping in restaurants, taxis, etc. is not obligatory. It is seen as a nice gesture, but certainly not as obligatory as in America.

I've also spent time in parts of Asia, where tipping is most definitely not expected, and at times even offensive.

My view of it is that (in the case of restaurants at least) it should be the restaurant owner's responsibility to ensure good service. If they have bad staff, it should be their responsibility to take care of it. I'll give an example: friends of mine went to America and had bad service. Meals were cold, service was slow. When they pointed out that they had been waiting a long time, it was met with an indifferent 'we're really busy tonight'. They then did not leave a tip, and were chased by the staff and asked, rather rudely, why they didn't give a tip. They explained their previous reasons.

In this instance, where the tip is just presumed, it is having no impact. It seems to me that the 'tip' has lost all meaning in this scenario.

As Americans (or indeed any country where tipping is customary), do you feel similarly, or am I missing something?

Can you provide a brief overview of the text?
<bot>: I don't think tipping (i.e. ensuring prompt/good service) should be the customer's responsibility. What are your thoughts?