That's always been the exact problem with American tipping culture. When it's expected to tip, you're no longer doing it to get better service, just normal service - which means it's just a hidden extra price.
I just finished building a ship where I wanted a cockpit available on New Atlantis, but a reactor I could only get on Akila. So I had to buy a shitty reactor in NA, only to sell it a minute later in Akila (for a fraction of the price). That's just terrible design, imo.