Yeah, it's weird how quickly I've forgotten about tipping once I moved to Australia. It's more of a hassle on the customer than anything, but it's cultural I suppose.

Both of those things can't happen at the same time. That's how we ended up with servers wages getting cut and forced to depend on tips.

If tipping is acceptable at all, it won't stay reserved for only truly excellent service. It'll become expected for good service, then adequate service, then any service at all.

That's not necessarily true. I won't tip the concierge at a hotel for telling me how to get to a nearby restaurant (OK, that's an anachronistic example :-)) but I probably would tip for scoring me some difficult ticket or reservation.

That's pretty much how it works in Australia.