Service tax is rather useless. Whether the service itself is
good or not, people still pay it. Why should this be the
practice?
While the best way is to motivate all waiter(esse)s to work hard
regardless of tips, we all know that this is impossible. Money is
the best way to motivate someone. Hence, tipping is a way to attain
better service. Afterall, if the service is good, tip. If service
isn't good, don't tip. (I've given a 1 cent tip before to show my
displeasure at a restaurant.)
And as to how much we should tip, a simple way is to take the
current service tax as a guildline. A voluntary 10%, +/- % whatever
depending on your experience.
As for paying with credit cards, the US has long implemented a
system where the service amount is written at the bottom of the
receipt before signing.
Tipping is not uncivilized. It's a different way/culture. Sure,
it might not be our current culture.... but...
