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It's subjective. Whichever standard you're used to, the opposite is irritating.

As an example, when I (an American) visited France and Italy, I couldn't stand that it took 30+ minutes after finishing our meals to pay the bill and get out of there.

But that's not really linked to tipping or the lack thereof; tipping's unusual in Japan, and yet they're the gold standard for getting out of a restaurant quickly once your meal is done.

Protip for your next travel: if you're in a hurry and want to pay the bill fast in France, you can just walk up to the counter and pay there :)

Interesting about Japan.

Anecdotally you can do this many places in the UK, too. Don't have to wait for them to get the payment processor machine either!

>So no, I wouldn't call the service "superior"— rather more irritating and intrusive because that's the best way to get a good tip, while pretending to be superior.

This seems to lend more support to the inference that you personally have atypical preferences than it does to the inference that the American tipping system as a whole doesn't result in greater aggregate satisfaction with service.

You acknowledge that most people tip more when their servers do things that you find "irritating and intrusive." To me, this suggests that most people don't find those things irritating and intrusive, and in fact like them, and that's why they're willing to surrender more money when they experience them.

This is extremely irritating— after I'm done eating, I like taking the time to talk with people and hangout without having the bill shoved in my face and the waiter asking us to leave (happened a few times).

Pure curiosity here, have you ever been waiting to get into a restaurant, wishing some people would leave so you may be seated? Wouldn't you be more comfortable hanging out in a lounge?