Tipping - Your Views

Ldannyhc on 25/10/2013 - 17:43

As an Oz Bargainer I find tipping a product of an employer who OzBargains his employee's.

The fact you will get yelled at for not tipping proves this can be high risk.

After Foreign correspondent showed down in jungle town and the Age ran an Article which show cased awesome comments like this;

"I agree with the concept of "When in Rome etc" and I'm not worried about the cost of tipping. However, I find it confusing and embarrassing. Every time I handed over a fist full of dollars to a porter, door man, cab driver I felt I was saying to them "I'm better/richer than you, so here are a few crumbs from my table!"

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/australians-are-the-worst-tips-…

I feel it is important to continue this discussion here.

Travel

Comments

  • zhenjie on 25/10/2013 - 18:04
    +6

    "As an Oz Bargainer I find tipping a product of an employer who OzBargains his employee's." Are you saying tipping is due to an employer not paying his staff appropriately? Well that's just the way the working culture is in USA and other tipping cultures.

    I tip appropriately. If I'm in Japan, I don't tip. If I'm in the USA, I tip the customary amount.

  • qwerty on 25/10/2013 - 19:19
    +9

    USA - Yes
    Australia - No unless they provide exceptional service

  • dannyhc on 25/10/2013 - 21:14
    +7

    zhenjie - My views align with this comment from SMH;

    "I never tip, and I have had cabbies, waiters, bellboys, bar staff and shop assistants abuse me in so many different languages I have lost count. I always politely reply to their angst " Why don't you vote in a government with fair and just labour policies like our Australian government, where nearly everybody earns enough to live on ? " then I run.

    CommenterJohnLocationMelbourneDate and timeOctober 23, 2013, 11:46AM

    • Charlatan on 27/10/2013 - 12:57
      +4

      How does one un-neg…

      EDIT: Found it, but I believe your opinion vastly overestimates the power of a single vote, or even the vote of an industry. You simplify the issue to the point of trivial ease.

  • zhenjie on 25/10/2013 - 23:00
    +5

    So you don't remunerate them if they provide you a service? You also know full well that some people rely on gratuities to supplement their income. Instead justify not tipping based on policies they can not control directly.

  • outlander on 26/10/2013 - 00:05
    +6

    lol. These are probably the same people who complain about poor service in Australia
    Basis of tipping is that the customers control a portion of the wage and by proxy how good is the service.

    Standard level I've heard is 10%. Tip extra if they give very good service, and tip less if the service is exceptionally bad.

    I think the idea is that they end up getting paid the same, but they feel like they have more control over how much they earn, and the customer gets to feel generous paying money they don't have to, even if normally they would.

    Anyone who doesn't tip should accept the fact they are stingy and move on. No need to make 101 excuses that conveniently paint you as a hero while also keeping you're wallet full. Just look into a mirror and say proudy "I am stingy!". Stinge every dollar you can. Embrace the stingitude. Get a tattoo that reads 'Stingy 4 Life'.
    Not like being stingy was ever a crime

    You don't have to tip, but understandably people will get upset as you're breaking a social convention. Once again not illegal, but then neither is cutting in line at a theme park or taking a full trolley to the 8 items or less checkout during peak hour, and then paying in coins. Do what you want, but at some point someone elses decision to disregard social convention will affect you, and then its hypocritical to blame anyone else.

    • OutOfComplaintForms on 26/10/2013 - 10:39
      +6

      But why should you tip them at all if you receive bad service? I can understand tipping if it's for good service, but I never understood tipping someone just for doing their job/give bad service.

      I think bad service = no tip.
      Just doing their job - whatever small change you have (and if you actually want to tip)
      Good service - decent tip.

      • zhenjie on 26/10/2013 - 17:22

        I think if you received bad service its common to see no tip to 10% tipping in the USA. 15% is probably at a minimum even if they are doing their job (depending on the service/industry).

        • OutOfComplaintForms on 26/10/2013 - 23:16
          +15

          Yet what amazes me, is the entitled attitude of service industry staff in the States towards tips. Yes, some understand that if no tip is left, or if a minimal tip is left it is a sign the customer didn't like the service and it should be improved (this is especially true in the chain-type places). Instead, they insist that you're a lousy cheapskate by giving them nothing, or very little.

          The sense of entitlement of some service industry employees is what bothers me. You shouldn't go into a job expecting everyone to give you tips, and then bad mouth people who give you less.

          Apparently, a 10% tip to a waiter who forgot about my order then gave me a salad with no dressing was 'insulting' to him. ::)

        • ProjectZero on 28/10/2013 - 14:03
          +6

          Haha, agreed with pushniacki.

          warning rant incoming

          A couple of years back i went to a restaurant in Eastwood, NSW with some workmates after we went out. There was about six to seven of us, we had the meal and split the bill. It came to about $17 per person, but because we all did not have change (lowest was a $20 note), we each threw $20 in (Now i'm not saying this was the right course of action…) but we expected change. After we paid the bill, we waited for 15 mins… then 30 mins… no change. We asked them what happened and their reply was.

          "i thought those were tips, we've already put it into the tip jar". 6*3 = $18 worth of tips… for next to no service, and the fact they assumed it was tips was the worst part… they then argued with us when we wanted our change back… needless to say, i have never stepped foot in that restaurant again because of this incident…

          /endrant

        • one man clan on 28/10/2013 - 14:57

          Noting the location (I group up there and ate in probably every restaurant there) again, it's probably a cultural thing. I'll say no more.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 28/10/2013 - 14:58

          But you got your change back right?

        • ProjectZero on 28/10/2013 - 16:40
          +1

          After the argument and being told off by the store owner… yes…

        • Scrooge McDuck on 28/10/2013 - 18:22
          +2

          Good onya for sticking it to him.

        • ESEMCE on 29/10/2013 - 08:26

          Irrelevant.. this discussion is about tipping overseas where tipping is expected.

        • kirasuran on 31/10/2013 - 14:16

          I eat in Eastwood almost weekly (not necessarily out of choice) and this has never happened to me.

      • outlander on 30/11/2013 - 20:27

        Even for bad service you still tip, but you might only give say 20c. Its a real slap in the face. If you give nothing you can be dismissed as being a cheap bastard, but tipping a small amount says you're willing to participate in the social convention, and thats all you thought they were worth.

        Its like, if you had a birthday party and someone gave you $3.50 in shrapnel. Somehow, giving nothing would have been less offensive. Weird, but it holds.

      • travelwiz on 06/02/2015 - 11:47

        perhaps if bad service, call manager over & discuss whether going to pay bill at all, left alone a tip.

        Tipping more than 10% is just plain silly.

  • Almost Banned on 26/10/2013 - 00:21
    +7

    Tipping in Australia is ridiculous and in the US is unfortunately necessary.
    Many states in the US have a mandatory minimum wage - but have a lower minimum wage for staff that expect to receive tips.
    For example - in Florida if you are a non-tipped worker you get a minimum of $7.79, but if you are a tipped worker your minimum is $4.77 per hour. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_the_United_Stat…)
    Either way it is tough to survive on but impossible if you are working at a tipped minimum wage and not actually getting the tips to make up the difference.
    In Australia the minimum wage is a (just) livable level, currently the adult Australian minimum full-time wage is $16.37 per hour. In the US it is not a liveable level.

    • iseenya on 26/10/2013 - 00:48
      +1

      One of the examples on the Foreign Correspondent program was in New Jersey, where the minimum wage for a tipped employee is an unbelievable $2.13 per hour!

      • MITM on 26/10/2013 - 23:36

        For doing what ?

        • Joshman5k on 30/10/2013 - 08:35

          Bar tending.

      • Tnetennba on 27/10/2013 - 00:13

        In all US states in the case of a worker not receiving more than the minimum wage (eg. $7.25 per hour in many states), the employer must make up the difference to the employee so they earn at least $7.25 per hour.

        Source: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm

        • Almost Banned on 27/10/2013 - 01:25

          Yes, while I understand that this is the law I also understand that it often doesn't happen.
          I have also heard that tipped employees are taxed on an assumed income based on taxes so that if they aren't getting tips they are taxed on money they haven't received.

    • Bargain4U on 27/10/2013 - 23:54

      In 2010 I worked in FL, USA for $7.25 p/h, it is liveable (just). I was not a server at the place I worked but those who were made several hundred dollars a day. Don't take pity on them!

      • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 00:19
        +1

        Seriously how did you live? Dumpster burgers/sleeping under bridges/selling your body at the dock?

        I earnt that much when I was 14 and I couldn't make my wage last a week!

        • antzz on 30/10/2013 - 08:28
          +1

          probably if you have been to US, you will realize how bloody expensive your country is!

    • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:28
      -1

      if you work a job where you get paid less than the legal minimum wage and then demand that customers make up the difference because your boss is an asshole, then it's time to go on strike like we all did here many moons ago and stand up for yourself and get a different job.

      I'll never tip and never will. It makes me feel disgusting when you pay $10 for a schooner of beer in the Sydney CBD and they put your change on a tiny plate expecting a tip.

      Dont tip, even when in America. Same rule applies for beggars, you're encouraging this incredibly poor behavior and making it acceptable.

      • Baghern on 30/10/2013 - 09:35

        yeah i find it very scandalous the way they give your change back. It creates negative feeling at the end of good meal, you know there's some kind of psychological play here.

        Owners probably read it somewhere this is how you give change back, to get tips.

        Like most thing not quantifiable, they don't know how many customers they lose to this tactic.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/10/2013 - 18:45

        So your way of making a stand is for a waiter/waitress to be underpaid for their shift. Way to stick it to the man. If you want change, then lobby for it, don't take it out on the guy at the bottom.

  • Baghern on 26/10/2013 - 20:52
    +3

    When making comparisons, don't freak out over the minimum wage. Remember we have much higher cost of living, our food our mortgages everything is significantly higher. We'd be better off with half our pay but American prices.

    Having said that, of course you tip in the US, the main annoyance, is there is no set standards. I read that article and everyone who has been there/lived there were giving different examples.

    In regards to Australian low service standards the mechanism for better service here is the employer not customers. The employer is failing to recognise good staff and paying them more. If they did this, the services industry would be more 'professional'.

    If I didn't get paid more for doing my job well, I'd be mighty average.

    As such I know tipping won't alter future services, so when I eat out and appreciate the service, I'll tip at most 5% or a rounded amount, I consider 5% as quite generous, considering the cost of going out.

    When in Asia/poorer countries where our money is strong, I tip generously and haggle little. Yeah I know they're ripping me off, does it really matter.

    side story.

    I was served by a yank at a retail store I frequent weekly. I felt he was new since his service and attempt to friendly was quite over the top, even though it was just 10-20secs at the cash register, he seem to think he deserved a tip, and the first 3 visits he'd short changed me. I called him on it of course, but make it a complaint assuming it was a mistake. I'm guessing someone must eventually complained, as he stopped doing it and toned down his 'service'.

    I prefer his much toned down behaviour than his over the top friendliness.

    • Baghern on 26/10/2013 - 22:24

      but didn't make it a complaint

  • MITM on 26/10/2013 - 23:33
    +1

    Keeping a wallet full of $1 bills all day, ready to tip someone, is a pain.
    What if you get left with only $10 or bigger notes after you've paid the cab fare for example.

    Thanks for the $9 ride, here's err… 10 bucks (ouch)

    I had a bellman who had just started his shift, never seen him before during our entire stay.
    He took our luggage from our room to the bell desk - meantime I got the car from the carpark (no valet parking for me, being an OzBer)
    When I pulled up he dutifully loaded the car with the luggage and stood by my window chatting about the weather etc until my partner finally left the lobby gift shop and got in the car on the passengers side.
    The bellman didnt go around and open the door for her - he continued to stand by my door waiting for a tip, for a total of at least 15 minutes !!
    I gave him $5 before driving off - begrudingly.

    He should have opened the passenger door at least. (bad service)
    And did he have other guests to attend to during the 15 minutes of chit chat (bad service for the other guests)

    He was an expert at extacting my tip - I blinked first.

  • Tnetennba on 27/10/2013 - 00:10
    +5

    Most workers in Australia in a "proper" job will earn plenty for what they do. The idea of tipping is a very American culture and only exists because waiters/etc in America literally earn $2 per hour + tips, so if you don't tip there, it is extremely frowned upon and you will become very unpopular very quickly.

    In Australia, though, the minimum wage is like $16/hr and most employees around the country earn more than that (even at supermarkets you earn ~$20 per hour).

    I don't see the need in tipping a waitress or most other professionals in Australia when they're probably earning over $20 per hour anyway. In some cases it's ok, like if you are owed $2 from a pizza delivery driver and you don't want to worry about change (similar with taxis, etc), but other than that, it is unnecessary and you should never be expected to tip.

    • Baghern on 27/10/2013 - 00:19
      +1

      I tip pizza delivery, that's a really bad job

      own car, own petrol, own insurance, wear and tear, the smell, etc

      • Composure on 27/10/2013 - 05:09

        What's the story with the company cars?
        It's hard to tell a delivery driver apart from others since they're in 'plain clothes' cars.
        I've seen a fair few company cars on the streets from the big 3, even pizza capers and smaller companies.
        Maybe it's just certain franchises or areas.
        I hadn't heard about some of them having to pay their own way, that really sucks.

        • Baghern on 27/10/2013 - 18:22

          my mates in uni use to do this … though that was over 10years ago.

          I can't imagine a modern day pizza company shelling over money for delivery, unless its an owner operate.

          in the 80s I remember a large pizza was $30… thats how they were able to afford company logo'd cars.

      • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:30
        -2

        the smell mostly comes from the Dominos drivers, not the pizza.

    • kolorijo on 27/10/2013 - 13:33
      +3

      i pick up my dominos so i dont have to tip :D

  • Orgazmo on 27/10/2013 - 10:03

    When I was there some Americans didn't tip either. This lady in a wheelchair needed help getting into a tour bus and the tour guy said she didn't tip at all. I tipped him $30 for his excellent service to us.

    What I don't understand is some places make up their own rules. Some let you decide the tip, others like Denny's automatically add about 18% to the bill. The waitress there was good but so annoying, in the end I tried to hand her $5 so she'd leave us alone but she refused it.

  • liverpool2009 on 27/10/2013 - 21:55
    +1

    We're supposed to tip pizza delivery's? I never will.

    • Baghern on 27/10/2013 - 22:43
      +2

      I do. No one here said you're suppose to.

      Your pizza guy isn't going to spit in your pizza because you don't tip.

  • rekabkram on 27/10/2013 - 23:47
    +4

    As a former pizza delivery driver, do not tip them!

    Little bit of back story, i used to be a furniture maker. Very regularly delivered incredibly heavy furniture that costs thousands of dollars, built and installed incredibly heavy and expensive kitchens. Early on when I had loads of free time I did pizza delivery as a second job.

    Now who do you think deserves a tip more? Someone who has made you a piece of furniture that will be in your house for years to come or someone that is dropping off a couple of pizzas and a coke?

    When I was delivering pizza I actually made more in tips then I did from pay and it is a job that is so mind numbingly boring and easy that there is absolutely no enjoyment in it.
    When I was delivering furniture in all sorts of weather and times it was considered to be a nice tip to be offered a glass of water during an install, mind blowing if someone offered you a can of coke to take with you on a stinking hot day.

    So if your going to tip anyone, don't tip the person that makes you a basic coffee or happens to hand you a box of pizza. Tip the person that busts his ass to bring in your fridge or the guys that made you a custom built tv unit.

    That's my views on tip culture in Australia, in America it's completely different. I've never been but id like to think that I would use 10% as the norm, less for bad service. More for good service.

    Last thought on tipping pizza delivery drivers in Australia.
    How many times have you tipped the check out chick (or guy) at your local supermarket? They work far harder to give you your food than a pizza delivery driver, give it to someone who doesn't normally get a tip for doing their job rather than someone who regularly gets told to keep upwards of $10 in change from a $50 note…

    • getsmart on 28/10/2013 - 07:28

      Well I disagree. A furniture delivery driver usually gets better pay than a pizza delivery driver (wage).

      • rekabkram on 28/10/2013 - 09:36
        +4

        Don't take offence by this I typed it out and as I read it back it reads rude but I didn't mean it that way. -

        Did you ever think that it takes a hell of a lot more skill to be able to make a really good piece of furniture and yet they get paid only slightly above minimum wage.

        Standard wage for a furniture maker is around $22 an hour as opposed to $16 odd that a pizza delivery driver gets.

        Furniture makes need to double as small truck drivers when needed and have generally gone through a low paying apprenticeship to get as skilled as they are and get their roughly $22 an hour.

        So yes they do get paid a bit better (around 25%) but then again if they are an apprentice then they actually get paid worse, not to mention any turkey with a drivers licence can drop off a pizza but it takes a bit more skill to make furniture and drive a truck.

        I was just trying to point out that they absolutely do not deserve a tip from the perspective of an ex pizza delivery driver, whereas people who are perceived as earning more because they actually have a skill may not be earning as much as you think while they are doing something that is far more difficult.

        • PresidentClinton on 30/10/2013 - 03:07

          I hope you tip every nurse you were in contact with at a hospital, and every teacher you meet. They are both highly skilled and not much above minimum wage too.

        • rekabkram on 30/10/2013 - 08:15

          No I didn't but then I never tip people in the service industry either. But this is exactly the point I'm trying to make. I singled out my old industry because it is relatable for me but it could certainly apply to the examples that you've given.

          Why tip the service industry, people who have come to expect it when it isn't deserved when there are far harder working, far more skilled people out there who are earning crappy wages.
          Give it to someone who doesn't expect if, who would really appreciate knowing how much you thought of their hard work.

    • Baghern on 28/10/2013 - 09:54

      As I said I had 2 friends who were Pizza delivery guys.

      They're not exactly delivering non stop. They deliver, drive back join the delivery que. Rinse repeat.

      Comes across as a highly stressed job, which you pay for (car and expenses)

      This is also a casual job where hours fluctuate.

      As far as I'm concern its in the same range as fruit picker. A lot of effort for low "western" pay.

      • rekabkram on 28/10/2013 - 11:05

        Again I have done both a high stress, highly involved job and at the same time I was a pizza delivery driver. Anyone that thinks that pizza delivery is difficult I wouldn't want working for me because they clearly aren't the most capable worker.

        It is an incredibly low stress job that is very easy. It is taxing on your car but then where I worked we also got paid $2.40 for every delivery we did which far more than covered the petrol.

      • cannedhams on 30/10/2013 - 14:37
        +1

        Fruit picking is the best as long as its stone fruit or something where you dont have to bend your back, like strawberries. Its the one job for which I actually have some nostalgia.

        Also, if you had decent living quarters (ie a caravan or a pop-top trailer) then your attractiveness to the opposite gender increases exponentially, particularly if the alternative is a stinky little hostel.

        If you're looking to get on good terms with those backpacker birds, you're far better off getting a good caravan and heading to Mundubbera than going on one of those Kontiki tours. Plus you get paid for picking the fruit.

    • liverpool2009 on 28/10/2013 - 16:56

      Couldn't agree more!

      They have a choice of working in store for slightly better pay but worse conditions or be a driver doing squat all.

  • Talonparty on 28/10/2013 - 07:13
    +3

    It's a slippery slope, I don't like to tip because I don't want to encourage less than minimum wage like in america. At the same time, I do tip exception wait-service and cabbies who go above and beyond. Sometimes I'll throw the pizza guy a bit extra because I know his conditions are a bit tough (and he's probably a young uni student) but god forbid that the system ever start to expect this kind of thing. We don't want to become america :(

  • Scrooge McDuck on 28/10/2013 - 09:15
    +4

    "One day in Paris, I found I had left my notebook somewhere and asked my hotel concierge if it had been found around the hotel. "Non, mademoiselle," he said very firmly.

    I was devastated, as it contained all my notes from Milan. Every day I would go to the concierge and I'd be told the same thing. Finally, I mentioned my problem to an executive at Paris Vogue. He made a call to the hotel and told me they had the book at the front desk. And then he said, pointedly, "Make sure you pay the concierge 50 francs".

    He'd had it all along but he'd been expecting me to grease his palm before he "found" it. I learned it was indeed astonishing what money can do."

    What a scumbag! I would've reported his extortion to the local Police.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 00:28

      I would've said as I left "I have no idea where your wallet is", just to see him double check.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:35
      +1

      the french are well known to be rude buggers, however whoever wrote that story must be carrying a grudge as the franc was removed in 1999.

      and working with Vogue magazine, say no more. probably was a rude cow.

  • onlyletters on 28/10/2013 - 10:57
    +5

    I refuse to tip anyone. They get paid a wage and this is what they agreed to when they took the job.

    • Bargain4U on 28/10/2013 - 11:04

      Have you actually tried that ethos in the USA? You'll have the manager over at your table or the police called before you know it.

      • dannyhc on 28/10/2013 - 11:48

        Amazing I thought you were joking .. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2138736/Tipping-opti…

        • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:39
          -3

          this article by the DM is bullshit as ever. Daily Mail is nothing but worthless tabloid crap.

          the restaurant has a policy that tables of 5 or more MUST pay 17% surcharge. They refused to pay their exact bill and so the police were called.

          and if you're on holiday in the USA and dont tip, who cares? I can carry my own bags mate and if i'm a return customer (which I never will be) they can't spit in my food or treat me poorly.

          pay the exact amount and no amount of pressure for me to make up for your poor life choices and your shitty boss and companies hourly pay will change my mind.

          the fact that people even ask for tips in Australia makes me sick.

      • onlyletters on 31/10/2013 - 08:36

        If it's the law to tip, they will get the smallest currency i can give them.

    • PresidentClinton on 30/10/2013 - 03:09
      -2

      That was a very autistic statement.

  • riley94 on 28/10/2013 - 12:01

    I know several servers that work in America, and all of them do very well. The tipping culture means that at the end of the day they make more than I would consider 'fair', especially since the people doing the work (making the meals) get no tip and usually end up making less than the servers, someone whose job a monkey could be trained to do.

    That said, I would tip in the US because it is a cultural thing and expected. The servers rely on tips to survive, and get taxed for what they are expected to make (a certain % of the bill), meaning if you don't tip it actually COSTS them money to serve you.

    Never in Australia though.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:40

      no americans claim tips as tax, newsflash! thats why they take the jobs in the first place.

      • riley94 on 30/10/2013 - 13:24
        +1

        Newsflash: yes they are taxed on tips. It is assumed that they make a certain % of each order on tips and are taxed accordingly.

  • mick123 on 28/10/2013 - 12:25

    I thought this was going to be a thread about strip joints…

  • pebee47 on 28/10/2013 - 12:42
    +2

    I have worked in "direct personal services" jobs (shops, bars, clubs etc)over the years. I have always offered friendly and efficient service and advice where pertinent. The wages weren't high, but I accepted the employment at that rate.
    I was always pleasantly surprised and gracious in manner when receiving the odd tip. I never expected a tip, and never resented people who didn't offer one.
    I now have money to occasionally dine out on, and rarely tip except where the service rates as excellent in all the boxes of friendliness, discretion, efficiency, etc. If I get a bad "no tip?" vibe I do not return there, and tell my friends.
    No, I won't comment on Urbanspoon as I believe it might not reflect the restaurants normal modus operandi, and it could seriously damage an otherwise good business for some poor sod who has worked their butt off to make it in a very hard industry

  • pebee47 on 28/10/2013 - 12:55

    I forgot to mention that I have 11 staff under me, work split shift but get $2/hr more than their $20/hr. I have a problem tipping someone who possibly earns more than me but gives anything less than brilliant service over the hour or so they are within contact range; but where I have had to work 3 or more hours to pay for the meal.

  • dannyhc on 28/10/2013 - 14:46
    +1

    Here is another issue with Tipping and the incessant Greed it fails to satisfy, in the States many Restaurants automatically include Gratuity on the final receipt. This practice has attracted the attention of the IRS which has reviewed and now ruled if you do this, it's now classed as a Service Charge.
    Revenue Ruling 2012-18
    The payment must be made free from compulsion;
    The customer must have the unrestricted right to determine the amount;
    The payment should not be the subject of negotiation or dictated by employer policy; and
    Generally, the customer has the right to determine who receives the payment.
    The fact they even had to legislate this proves what a farce the whole thing was to begin with.

  • m0nkeycheese on 28/10/2013 - 14:48

    I live in Canada. Its customary to tip 15% for normal service and 10% if mediocre and obviously zero if it was really really bad. The thing is its part of their system and so you must adjust to it. Australians are the worst for having a whinge when foreigners come to Australia and dont to comply with Australian customs but when overseas they cry poor.

    The thing is most of the servers have to 'tip out' at the end of their shift. This means that with the tips they make they have to pay out the cooks and the bar staff. If they end up not making many tips then they can end up paying to work!

  • [Deactivated] on 28/10/2013 - 14:53

    I really only stay in two places.

    Australia: Only if either the food or the service is exceptional. standard… definitely not, wages for servers in Australia are far better than they are in the US so tipping is more a bonus than an entitlement. Not sure the tax rules around tipping here, or how closely they are adhered to.

    Indonesia: Yes, always round to the closest 10,000IDR (1AUD) regardless of the service, it's easier that way for everyone involved, it's seen as polite, and it means you arent walking around with a bunch of 5-10 cent notes. If the food is absolutely amazing, I pay what I consider a fair price in Australia is for it.

  • wukachuka on 28/10/2013 - 15:54
    +4

    I won't tip in australia, ever.
    It's simply not a thing here, never has been, and as long as we don't let it, will never be.

    • cannedhams on 28/10/2013 - 17:14
      +1

      I agree I would much rather have service staff paid decent wages rather than have to rely on tipping.

      I also watched the foreign correspondent program. The working class in the US have been absolutely shafted, no two ways about it.

      • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:41

        it's their own fault. 'land of the free, USA number 1' yeah yeah

        good luck on 2 dollars an hour and then trying to harrass customers into paying the rest of your wages

  • Fizzydrink on 28/10/2013 - 17:33
    +1

    When i was in vegas i asked the chick behind the counter on how it all works. apparently there is a tipping award rate that gets calculated.. eg if this kind of job you should earn x in tips, so we will pay you this wage, compared to the award of here's $11 an hr,

    One thing I do, is that if i tip, i give it straight to the person who did the good job, else it all goes into a pot on the counter and gets split at the end of the night, where old mate who did a crap job reaps the rewards.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 00:32

    I think the biggest losers of all this are the people who are expected to work hours when they expect no customers and then say the son of the restaurant works friday and saturday nights and makes a killing in tips.

  • JordanM on 29/10/2013 - 05:51

    I rarely tip in Australia, only if the service is exceptional.

    When I travelled in the US I tipped 10-12% if the service was reasonable/good. 15% or higher if it was great. 5% if it was okish. 0% if it was bad.

    The majority of servers servers were in the great or reasonable/good range. I was shocked at how good service is when part of the wage is from tipping. On the other hand some take it as an entitlement. I had a very rude taxi driver in NYC who didn't speak a word to me after asking where I was going in the airport, and spoke and played on his phone during the journey. He then got very aggressive and rude when I paid my fare on the screen in the cab and did not choose to tip.

  • rekabkram on 29/10/2013 - 08:36
    +1

    I feel like this report is relevant to this thread as a great reason why we do not need to tip in this great country.

    http://images.smh.com.au/file/2013/10/09/4815797/cs_global_w…

    I didn't even bother reading it all, skip to page 57 to see Australia.

    Australians have the highest median wealth in the world, second highest mean wealth, the highest proportion of adults who's net wealth is over USD$100,000 of any country in the world and a very low proportion of those who have under USD$10,000.
    Compare this to America (page 46) and there is a significant difference, for one our median wealth is over 4.5 times that of Americans median wealth.

    I feel like this directly correlates with just how well off we are and why tipping is a backwards step, we want our country to continue to thrive as a whole rather than leaving the service industry with further uncertainty and with less pay.

    I like something that was said above though by someone who said they spend a fair bit of time in Indonesia, If you are paying less for a meal and it is exceptional then pay them as much as you would pay them to eat that meal in Australia, tip depending on local custom and factor it in when considering the cost of eating. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

    • Baghern on 29/10/2013 - 08:59

      yes high median wage. But I wonder how many other nations it cost 2/5 a weekly pay to rent an average accomodation or property is 10x(bubble burster for every other nation).

      Not saying we're poor. But we are really struggling in other areas, which has a flow on effect.

      For an average family, you have to live far from work, transport costs. Private schooling is one of the highest % in the world, due to Govt subsidies.

      Private schooling and Property prices are a strong indicators that are moving us into a class society like the US.

      If things keep going the way the are the upper middle class, will be the new struggling middle class in 20 years.

      I have no kids, but I believe in higher taxes for better education. The kids are our future.

      As a single full time working male I really should be in 'super indulgent' mode. As it is I'm just in 'indulgent' mode. That's not being greedy it just show how out of wacked society for someone in a good financial position. How then are families faring on median wage?

      • rekabkram on 29/10/2013 - 09:16

        And that is what keeps everything relative.

        We are nearing the top of the standards of living index

        http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
        Second only to Norway in both HDI and inequality adjusted HDI (Human Development Index).
        Yes rent/mortgage does cost a lot but we have a lot, 2/5ths of our wage may be more than 2/5ths of another country's wage but we are left with more to spend.
        That is why it is common place in Australia for even family's that don't have a lot to still have a 50" tv and not think anything of it, have a couple of smartphones that are worth over $500 new each and it is common practice.

        On the subject of public vs private schooling, it is a choice. Private doesn't automatically mean better, in some cases it just means that the subject of religion is included.

        While unrelated I am an advocate for government funding of private schools to be slashed. If they do not wish to follow the public curriculum and wish to operate as a business then why should our government be in some cases giving more funding to them rather than public schooling?

        • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 09:26

          Public schooling is better if you are a student. Private is better if you are the teacher.

        • Baghern on 29/10/2013 - 09:52

          Ignoring the education part of it. Private schools keep out the troubled kids. The people you hang out with grow up makes a big difference in how you turn out.

          rekabkram - that's focusing too much on hard numbers.

          Try being the same kind of consumer as American's are, their median income is very low, but they get a lot from it.

          We earn a lot, but its just a cover from what we can actually get from it.

          As I said I'm in a good position, and am lucky, but it freaks me out that I'm not in a better position based on my position. The position I'm in should be able to keep a family comfortable, it would not.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/10/2013 - 13:38
      +2

      I agree. Australia is NOT a country with a tipping culture. In countries where a tip is expected, I tip, but in Australia, tipping would just be encouraging and creating a false expectation that others would tip. We are paid a fair wage here, and if an individual feels they are underpaid, then either:
      1) if you are paid under the minimum wage set by the government, report your employer.
      2) if you feel your time is worth more than you are being paid for, leave. If you can't leave because you can't get another job, then your time isn't worth as much as you think it is worth.

      • Baghern on 30/10/2013 - 13:57

        If you can't leave because you can't get another job, then your time isn't worth as much as you think it is worth.

        gold…

  • nikey2k27 on 29/10/2013 - 09:22
    -5

    I spent far bit of time in new york u have to tip. but went i stay in up market hotel i ask staff what they get payed they door man was 14.00 and desk staff was on 23.00 i tip where i think it was right. if did not know ask the staff. spoke to door man hotel 15% if happy more if feel it was very good. i tip go go boy $10 for kiss hug and photo.

    • Bullzye on 29/10/2013 - 09:39
      +3

      You should save all your tip money and do a basic English course.

      • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2013 - 23:45

        casual racism, even OzBargainers love it

    • Baghern on 29/10/2013 - 10:01

      That's good pay, and they probably deserve it plus tips. That's how professions are made.

    • Weezle on 29/10/2013 - 22:29
      +1

      That was painful to read.

  • frostee on 29/10/2013 - 15:01
    +1

    I like to tip simply because I know how shitty it can be to work a food service job sometimes. And giving someone a tip, when it is not the norm, can really make someones day. I remember getting Chinese food delviered a few months back, I think it was $20 or so and I gave the dude an extra $10. He looked very appreciative and it seemed like he walked away a bit happier.

  • SydStrand on 29/10/2013 - 21:27

    Generally, no. But if I'm eating out and it's a single cheque, nearly everyone slightly overpays so there's usually a handsome tip at the end.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/10/2013 - 02:31

    why are you tipping? because someone did their job?…. ok… that's their job?

    if they did their job shit, they shouldn't have that job.

    tipping would be if the waitress made me drop a load after dinner, not just because 'they did the thing they are paid to do'

    • Soybeanus on 30/10/2013 - 21:56

      i don't want to know what you meant by that last bit o_o

    • SydStrand on 30/10/2013 - 22:18

      Thanks, Mr Pink.

  • cheepwun on 30/10/2013 - 19:03

    Inches, miles, NTSC, 110V and fractions of an inch are best left to the USA. So too, tipping. Assuming imaginary trip to the USA (I'd never want to visit, to be honest), I'd be far too tight to tip and far too tight to employ the services of any establishment that relies on tipping.

  • PresidentClinton on 30/10/2013 - 19:12

    Why is this so hard for people? Tipping in the US is 15% for normal service, 0-10% for terrible service and 20% or higher for exemplary service.

    Its amazing how the service industry there is so attentive and never without a frown, especially when you get into the upmarket department stores!

    • Baghern on 30/10/2013 - 23:26

      Its so hard because yanks can't get this right.

      That article in the paper has dozens of people who lives/had lived in the yanks giving different numbers.

      If it was so easy, no one would be complaining.

      AND FAKE. I've seen it here by yanks thinking they'll get a tip. Some people like to have servants/people grovelling at their feet.

      • PresidentClinton on 31/10/2013 - 00:46

        Everyone is fake towards the person who pays them. Don't tell me you've never had it with a boss but put on a smile and some small talk.

        I have seen more than a few times a snotty teen brat attitude turn delightfully angelic at the smell of a good tip.

        • Baghern on 31/10/2013 - 07:12

          We're all pleasantly fake to each other.

          We don't grovelling BFF with each other though.

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