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This is an empirical claim: namely that tipping results in better service.

The evidence I have seen does not favor this hypothesis: http://freakonomics.com/2013/06/03/should-tipping-be-banned-...

I don't see anything in that link or the transcript that actually addresses this point.

(Note that I limited my claim to "faster service", not overall "better service" or "perception of better service".)

This seems like a good time to point out that every study of tipping I've come across fails to find this sort of incentive effect.

Unless you want to call it "bribery", under which circumstances it can have some potent effects.

The difference is that bribery usually involves an upfront payment. Maybe people should start tipping before their meal.

The only difference I've noticed between service in North America and that in Australia is that I get iced water and the bill at the end really fast in North America. Everything else is more or less the same.