Speaking as an American, albeit someone who’s lived in multiple countries and traveled widely, you don’t want our tipping culture.

It’s a slippery slope that once you slide down you won’t be able to climb back up. Claptrap about consumer choice means nothing when those around you are tipping, and the waiter is hovering over your table with an expectant look in his eye.

The 5, 10, 15% tip rates are also laughably naive. At least on the US west coast, POS machines routinely display 18, 20, 22, 25%+ options now, and 20% has become the de-facto standard for good service if you have any plans to return to an establishment.

There’s also tip creep. Whole classes of professions that didn’t expect tips here in the US now do. Yielding to tip culture is also a concession to changing the balance between living wages and variable income.

For what it’s worth, I tip generously here in the US because I know it’s the culture, and offsets the ridiculously low minimum wages paid to hard-working service staff. But our failings don’t have to be your failings.

Edit: Supporting my point - https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodLosAngeles/comments/1dafgeb/normalizing_the_22_tip/

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/business/money-report/sick-of-tip-creep-5-times-its-ok-not-to-tip-according-to-etiquette-experts/

That’ll teach him to use Gen Z slang in front of his elders!