And I live right across the border in the Czech Republic (moved there as an adult, from Canada), where the tipping culture for waiters is for all intents and purposes the same as what you describe. Tips are socially expected, but they tend to be small. People either round up to the nearest round number in Czech crowns, or throw in an extra 10 or 20 crowns over that if the roundup is too close to result in a real tip. Regarding the minimum wage aspect, there is a legal requirement to pay full minimum wage in the Czech Republic even in the case of tipped employees. However, there’s a big “but” here. In the Czech Republic, minimum wage is very low, essentially a starvation wage. To put things into perspective, only a very small minority of Czechs actually earn only minimum wage (I researched this and IIRC the statistic is something like 6%, not more than 8%) and whereas in North America, AFAIK, minimum wage is standard pay for a low-level worker at McDonalds, where you’re not allowed to take tips, in the Czech Republic, the starting salary there is, at least from what I’ve seen advertised, visibly higher than minimum wage (like, by 33%!) For this reason, whereas I would not feel guilty about not tipping e.g. in France, in the Czech Republic I wouldn’t at present use the argument that “waiters all earn minimum wage” as an excuse not tip.
You posed the question to puzzlegal; I don’t wish to speak for him and hope he answers your question from his perspective. Speaking purely for myself, there is a multitude of reasons why I don’t like current system and would prefer to just know what I’m paying in advance, even if I would pay exactly the same amount. I already stated the main ones above in post #52, but I would summarize the main reasons as follows: 1) I want life to be simpler and feel entitled as a consumer to be handed a final price as early as possible during a transaction and not have to do any more math than is absolutely necessary. As a European citizen, I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if Germany/the EU changed the law to allow retailers to print before-tax prices on labels (like the idiotic system in North America) and calculate the total plus VAT when you come with your purchase to the cash register. 2) I feel an underlying sophistry in the current system. You are given a lower price (that sometimes seems quite expensive, esp. if you run up a big bill), yet both you and the server tacitly understand that you need to automatically “volunteer” 15-20% more or you’re considered a jerk cheating the server. Introducing the exact final price eliminates the temptation not to tip/find ways around it. 3) Tipping percentages have risen. It used to be acceptable to tip 10%. If we eliminated gratuities, there would be no chance for anyone to be labelled “generous” or a “cheapskate” depending on how much they left, nor would changing social conventions be able to dictate how much you paid in a restaurant. 4) It would eliminate the various controversies connected with tipping. Nowadays, you think you got a good tip because you provided great service. Or was it because you are an attractive female who wore a low-cut shirt? You think you got no tip because a customer is a cheapskate. Or was it because they were dissatisfied by your service - and if so, by what exactly? You give your server a big tip because you’re satisfied. What you don’t know is that they have to share it with the others or even with the cook. The waiter gets no tip because the cook was slow in preparing the meal. You see? If you eliminate tipping and replace it with all-inclusive pricing like at McDonalds, all this complexity and manipulation goes out the window.