Trying to find information on what's going on with tips at eateries in Germany, found this in google:

It’s a debate that comes up every few months: those pesky little card readers that nudge you to add 10, 15 or 20 percent before you pay. Whether it’s just a takeaway coffee or a multi-course menu with wine pairing – many guests feel pressured by the machine’s invitation to tip. Some even call it manipulation. And yes, we get the reflex. Perhaps it does feel a little different when the machine pushes it on you, rather than when you follow your own impulse to leave something extra, in recognition of great service.

[...]

Be that as it may: without tips, the numbers don’t work out – at least not under current conditions. At the same time, we’re well aware of the downsides for staff. A low official salary also drags down pension and unemployment benefits in Germany. It’s also a problem when you’re applying for an apartment or a loan.

That’s why at [restaurant name] we even considered scrapping tips altogether and putting everything through payroll. What stopped us? Simple: if we priced tips into net wages, our menus would be prized so much higher than other, comparable restaurants that we might have well-paid staff – but far too few guests.

​​checks their menu​ a minimum payment for food alone is 120 euro per person??? 🤯
​​looks at review, sees receipt photos​ couples leave there 500 euro before tips??? 🤯

Are you telling me that getting 120-250 euro per visitor is not enough to pay decent net wages?
Are you telling me that people who leave 500 euro at the restaurant in a single evening, choose based on prices and would go to another place if this one had prices 10% higher?

I would understand these claims from places where the typical receipt is around 10 euro per person...

(And so, the question stays unanswered: what is it with payment terminals recently forcing you to choose a tip or explicitly press on "Kein Trinkgeld" button (and with waiters in some places pressing on "Kein Trinkgeld" themselves before giving you the terminal); and where do the money actually go if you press "10%"; and are the staff actually not paid enough that they need tips, or is it something payment terminal developers just copied from the USA where waiters don't even get minimum wage?)