Society/Culture Tipping

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Apr 12, 2010
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Maybe should be on GD but here goes:

What are people's attitude to tipping? (as in gratuities, not picking winners in the footy)

It never really used to be a thing in Australia, the thinking being that we have a good minimum wage compared to somewhere like the US. Nonetheless, I would think that for particularly good service at a restaurant, a tip was an appropriate though not 'compulsory' gesture.

I'm starting to see it spread a bit more now, and to be honest, there is some definite overreach. Places that don't have table service will have an app/website accessed by scanning a barcode that you order from. These sites often have the option for including a tip, often highlighting a default percentage that is something other than nothing. What do most people do here? Personally, I don't think it is warranted (indeed, how can you reward good service with an appropriate tip when you are yet to experience any service?). I have on occasion put in a tip when a place is really busy in anticipation of perhaps better service. I used to always round up taxi fares because I thought it was a shit job. Same with barmen on xmas eve, poor bastards.

The worst example I've had was phoning up for take away. I drove down to get it myself, and when the tap payment didn't work, they tried again and said, "oh you just have to do this part" - enter the tip amount. Obviously I entered nothing and I got a bit of a funny look. (To be fair, the shop had a "please be patient due to staff shortages" sign, and this staff member looked a bit bottom of the barrel to be honest.)

Doing a bit of reading on the subject and it's interesting to see the low correlation between tips and quality of service anyway. It often has more to do with waiter/waitress attractiveness, or simply wealthy patrons showing off.

I always tip in countries where the person doing the job is poorly paid, but sometimes that is hard to gauge. Some tour operators in Europe will emphasize one should tip, so I go along with that. I've no idea what they are being paid otherwise.

There are plenty of us that go the extra mile in our jobs without getting any extra coin from an end customer, too.


So what are peoples attitudes / experiences with this? Is it something that should become more or less part of Aussie culture? Do you tip the uber eats guy via the app or hand them a fiver? Is more tipping for less service (as per smartphone ordering) just plain rude or sensible?
 
Maybe should be on GD but here goes:

What are people's attitude to tipping? (as in gratuities, not picking winners in the footy)

It never really used to be a thing in Australia, the thinking being that we have a good minimum wage compared to somewhere like the US. Nonetheless, I would think that for particularly good service at a restaurant, a tip was an appropriate though not 'compulsory' gesture.

I'm starting to see it spread a bit more now, and to be honest, there is some definite overreach. Places that don't have table service will have an app/website accessed by scanning a barcode that you order from. These sites often have the option for including a tip, often highlighting a default percentage that is something other than nothing. What do most people do here? Personally, I don't think it is warranted (indeed, how can you reward good service with an appropriate tip when you are yet to experience any service?). I have on occasion put in a tip when a place is really busy in anticipation of perhaps better service. I used to always round up taxi fares because I thought it was a s**t job. Same with barmen on xmas eve, poor bastards.

The worst example I've had was phoning up for take away. I drove down to get it myself, and when the tap payment didn't work, they tried again and said, "oh you just have to do this part" - enter the tip amount. Obviously I entered nothing and I got a bit of a funny look. (To be fair, the shop had a "please be patient due to staff shortages" sign, and this staff member looked a bit bottom of the barrel to be honest.)

Doing a bit of reading on the subject and it's interesting to see the low correlation between tips and quality of service anyway. It often has more to do with waiter/waitress attractiveness, or simply wealthy patrons showing off.

I always tip in countries where the person doing the job is poorly paid, but sometimes that is hard to gauge. Some tour operators in Europe will emphasize one should tip, so I go along with that. I've no idea what they are being paid otherwise.

There are plenty of us that go the extra mile in our jobs without getting any extra coin from an end customer, too.


So what are peoples attitudes / experiences with this? Is it something that should become more or less part of Aussie culture? Do you tip the uber eats guy via the app or hand them a fiver? Is more tipping for less service (as per smartphone ordering) just plain rude or sensible?

If the service is what I would consider the be the level you'd expect - as in, decent, without amazing - then the base wage should account for that.

If the service is above and beyond, I'll tip. I've worked in the service industry and the number of times someone truly provides exceptional service isn't overly common, but should be rewarded IMO.

The US system is a shitshow where the wages are so poor and the staff so underpaid that the customer is expected to top up the staff wages.

The new payment methods that kind of force you to choose to not tip are a bit shit though. If I've just forked out $25 for my heirloom tomato and crushed (not smashed) avo on charcoal seeded sourdough toast and $6 for my alternative milk deconstructed coffee and then paid another 10% Sunday surcharge, I really don't see the need to try to shame me in to adding a tip.
 

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It really depends.

I've tipped before, but only when I feel I've gotten either a dish that is sufficiently excellent or service that warrants a tip. If you've been served by a store's owner, a sommolier gives you excellent advice, or the waiting staff are genuinely excellent at their jobs absolutely I'll tip, but that also comes a bit from the fact that I don't eat out unless I can afford to spend a bit and dropping the tip is something that can be done without hurting me.

Times have been pretty tight recently, so I don't eat out as much as I used to, but if I did I would probably tip.
 
When I went to the US it felt like emotional blackmail. The moment where they open up the bill and react to what you have tipped is incredibly awkward and unpleasant. Sometimes they ask if you want change and their face drops if you say yes. Basically ended up tipping gratuitously the whole trip just to not feel like shit.

Seems to be increasingly common in Australia to be asked “would you like to leave a tip?” when paying at higher end restaurants. Also a pretty unpleasant interaction. It’s like piss off. I’m not paying enough already?
 
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When I went to the US it felt like emotional blackmail. The moment where they open up the bill and react to what you have tipped is incredibly awkward and unpleasant. Sometimes they ask if you want change and their face drops if you say yes. Basically ended up tipping gratuitously the whole trip just to not feel like s**t.

Seems to be increasingly common in Australia to be asked “would you like to leave a tip?” when paying at higher end restaurants. Also a pretty unpleasant interaction. It’s like piss off. I’m not paying enough already?

Conversely, I appreciate the one's who opt out of the tip on your behalf to avoid the awkward experience. Especially if it's a higher end place and they're not exactly scraping out a living.
 
Tipping culture is absolute cancer and I hope to imaginary sky fairy daddy it stays in the U.S. where it belongs.

Tipping and the batty religious fundamentalism are the top of my list of "American culture items to not infect Aus please".
 
When I went to the US it felt like emotional blackmail. The moment where they open up the bill and react to what you have tipped is incredibly awkward and unpleasant. Sometimes they ask if you want change and their face drops if you say yes. Basically ended up tipping gratuitously the whole trip just to not feel like s**t.

Seems to be increasingly common in Australia to be asked “would you like to leave a tip?” when paying at higher end restaurants. Also a pretty unpleasant interaction. It’s like piss off. I’m not paying enough already?

It also doesn't quite make sense, if you leave a generous tip you don't really get the benefit for the most part, you've already received the service.

In Vegas where you get the free drinks on the table while playing it's worth it though, the more you tip they quicker they return to you. We used to tip big for the first drink, they'd come straight back and tip half, then on the last drink tip nothing and move tables.
 
Different culture obviously but I just came back from Mexico and it's expected there. Many rely on it for their wages so I'd tip a driver a couple of dollars, a dollar after every drink or two, a dollar for room cleaning etc. It depends where you are the culture really. I'd tip a little bit for sit-down service at restaurants in Australia but that's about it really.
 
I used to despise tipping, as i thought it was just a way for the restaurant/venue owners to pass a cost (labour) onto consumers.

Then it was explained to me was that tipping was to tie wait/bar staff to the success of the restaurant. E.g when sales weren't great, their wages weren't great as a consequence. If the restaurant/venue is booming, the staff will be making money hand over fist.

After hearing that perspective I'm honestly far warmer to the concept, but I'm still not 100% sure if I like it or not.
 

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Society/Culture Tipping

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