My uncle once related a story to me of a visit to Europe where, high up in the Alps, they ended up late at night at an Inn that had been in business for centuries. Their waiter was in his 70s, took down the orders of 8 people in another language without writing a thing down, made recommendations and accommodations, then grew indignant when they attempted to tip him. He did his job as a professional, as his father had before him, because that's what he did, and he was compensated fairly for his skill. To imply that somehow he would give better or worse service to someone depending on how much petty cash they had given him was, to him, an affront to his professionalism.

The propagating tip jars are absolutely a big part of the problem - we're taking our expression of thankfulness for services well-rendered and turning it into a toll.

Put your prices on the menu and charge me for it. Service is a big damn part of Yelp reviews anyway so if your service sucks I'm not going to care whether I tipped or not.

It's time for the whole system to go.