Exactly! We had this debate on this forum before. Pay people a decent salary and then the tip becomes a small (emphasis on small) but real appreciation of their good service.
What I never understood was people actually defending this system as being good, but refused to implement it to other service based jobs (bank clerks, plumbers, accountants...)
The truth is that the vast majority of tourists do not know how important the tip is to the waiters salary. More importantly many who know, refuse to believe it and think it's nothing more than a scam, since they don't understand why is the client responsible for the salary and not the employer...
I've explained the American tipping system to many friends on their first visits to the US and I always get the "are you kidding me look".
Although it is slowly becoming universally known and now it's being usurped in quite a few tourist traps in Europe.

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(at least that's what I am told by Bavarians).
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