Society says we should tip waiters and waitresses in restaurants - but is that right?

Tipping in restaurants and food outlets has become what seems the norm in the UK, after the behaviour was adopted from the USA. Unless you've had a truly awful experience in a restaurant, it seems there is an obligation to leave near to a 10% bundle of change on the table as you leave. If you don't, there's often a guilt which washes over you as you hurry out the restaurant avoiding eye contact. In my view, this is totally wrong. There are few other jobs in life where people and society expect individuals to be tipped for the work they are doing. Just like most people in the country, especially those visiting restaurants, the staff at these food outlets are paid to be there. Serving your table is their job and they receive an income for doing so. Why then, should there be an expectation for a restaurant go-er to pay for their meal, and then give the staff an additional bonus when they are simply doing their job? Especially, when it could be completely possible for the waiter's standard wage to be more than yours. I think the expectation for tipping waiters and waitresses needs to be dropped, as it is not standard across all industries, and only in exceptional cases where the staff have gone above and beyond should it be normal behaviour.