The 411 on Aussie Restaurants

So after working in the restaurant bizz for many years I have found many peculiarities about how the way a restaurant is run and even how customers experience it. And I have found that the basis for way an American restaurant functions vs an Australian restaurant is the system of tipping. From what I can see almost everything about customer service stems from tipping. Waiters over here obviously get paid a decent hourly rate which is why people don't tip here. I should say that there is not a total absence of tipping however but when people do tip it is usually anywhere from 1 to 5 percent (or they are American and don't know they don't have to tip over here, stupid Americans). So the first difference is that I don't even introduce myself to my tables anymore as there is no need to try and establish a personal connection to better your tip. But most of the time when you approach a table there is no time to introduce yourself because you would simply be interrupting the customer in the middle of his/her order. The customer knows there is not going to be a courtship by the waiter and is ready to go. It is very efficient this way but it certainly is something that took getting used to.The second difference is that the only reason you need to maintain a quasi-attentive attitude towards your table is to move along the meal in order to get them out and the next table in. The only reason, generally, to approach a table once they are eating is to clear their plates once they are done or hand them the bill. Most people, unless they are consuming adult beverages, do not get a second drink (maybe because there are no free refills on sodas). Of course sometimes people do order coffee and desert for which I had to acquaint myself with the way coffee is named over here: long black, short black, flat white, long flat white, short weak white, long skinny black, etc. But not too difficult once you get the hang of it.The third difference is that a table is not really yours since there is generally no tip that comes along with it. A table can be interchanged among the staff like a pair of designer jeans among teenage girls. If I have a section of the restaurant and my shift ends I don't have to wait for my tables to leave, I just leave. Someone else takes over and there is no need to update the new server or transfer tables. So, as you can see, especially someone in the restaurant bizz, there is a lot about an experience in an American restaurant that differs that of an Aussie restaurant. And it all stems from tipping.