[arter4]

The point of tipping is that it's _supposed to_ go straight to the servers, while normal charges go the owners who then share them with their employees as they see fit.

Assuming this is true, and tips are not actually taken by the owners, there are two interpretations of this:

1) customer pays more than what their lunch or dinner actually costs, to intentionally signal that there was something special about it (good service,...), or

2) customer pays more than what their lunch or dinner actually costs, because they know employees are underpaid and they want to compensate for that. It's essentially a form of charity.

While I have nothing against charity, charity that is "institutionalized" (big word, I know) by the employees (a tip jar) and very strongly encouraged does seem like a nice way for employers to justify a lower pay. And even if that is not the actual reason why tips exist, an employer who knows most of its customers tip can use this to pay less its employees.

[popcalc]

I have friends who work at gentrified restaurants in Budapest and they tell me the owners pocket all the tips. Only American tourists tip haha.

[arter4]

I'm from another European country.

We do tip, but occasionally, only if we believe something about that meal was really great, and there's no set percentage.

Also, there are no tip jars. What happens is the server brings the check to you, and you can tip the server by giving money directly to them. Of course, this doesn't mean the owner cannot pocket the tips, but it does give a feeling that the tip is more likely to reach the servers only.