However, in Australia, tipping in food service (or really most situations) is generally not a thing. It’s not *offensive* to tip like it is in Japan, but it’s not really done either. Even if it is, you might chuck a couple of bucks of change in the jar on the counter: not tips of double-digit percentages of the price of the meal. Unlike in the US, there is no separate “service wage” which is far below a normal wage and assumes a significant portion of income will be derived from tips.

Putting a blocking step in the payment process, where I either have to push a button labelled “no tip” in front of the person who both served us and is waiting for my selection, or push a button to choose a rate of tip to add to the cost of the meal (which, as I’ve mentioned above, isn’t normal practice in Australia and therefore should not be implicitly expected), effectively guarantees that my last experience before leaving the establishment will be one of low level awkwardness and/or resentment.

It’s an active decision made by whoever configures the payment terminals and/or trains the front-line staff: like I say, exactly the same brands of payment terminals are used at lots of other establishments, and I just get to pay without first playing “tip-or-no-tip”.