I wanted to get peoples reasonable arguments for and against, for tipping in Australia.
Firstly, Australia's minimum wage is much higher than most countries. And in addition to this, very often the restaurateurs are forced to pay above minimum wage. Add to this the penalty rates that apply and SOME hospitality staff are very well paid on a global comparison basis.
I know some restaurateurs who struggle with the high rents and wages and barely cover their costs with food. They rely increasingly on wine to make a profit.
The issue of
a whether a tip should be expected
b if so how much?
I can work in a lower priced restaurant /bistro which is byo and typically the bill might come to $30-50 per head. Or I might work at a takeaway food place. I would be paid the same per hour. I would be working hard as the turnover of customers is quicker.
Or I could work at a high priced restaurant with an expensive wine list, far fewer clients and I would not work nearly as hard. I am also likely to be earning a higher base wage.
In the first scenario, I would be less likely to be tipped, but if I received a tip it would be for $3-5 per head on top of my likely minimum hourly rate
In the second scenario where the customer is encouraged to order expensive wine, it is not uncommon for the wine bill to be more than the food. A total bill of $150 per head is not uncommon and so a 10% tip is $15 per head on top of a higher hourly rate. Remember I am working less intensely than the waiter in the first scenario as well.
Should 10% of the bill (if at all in australia) be the expected tip REGARDLESS of how high the bill is? Or is a flat fee more appropriate?
Should we tip at all if the service is only just ok? In other words the waiter is just dumping the food on the table, and not adding anything else to your dining experience.
In recent times I have been shocked at the introduction in restaurants of the credit card terminal that specifically asks for you to enter a tip. In many cases I have observed the waiting staff not only looking at the amount as it is being entered, but also entering into a conversation about the amount that was being tipped. I find this all a bit rude and presumptive. The sense of entitlement that some of these waiters have over what is an elective gift of appreciation I personally find offensive.
Personally for the record, I will not tip in australia if I feel that the waiter has not been friendly, or has been abrupt, intrusive, or ill informed. If on the other hand , they have really added to our dining experience I am more than happy to tip. How much I tip is not related to the size of the bill. if we are eating somewhere cheap, and I feel like a tip is deserved then I will often tip more than 10%. On the other hand if the evening has been a celebration and the bill has become much bigger I am often tipping less than 10%
What do others think about the issue of tipping and the etiquette that goes with it?
I think this has come in because of the move to PIN-only transactions rather than pen and paper signatures we had up until mid-2014.
On the topic of tipping though, I just don't bother as a rule, and believe there should never be any obligation or custom requiring it in the future. Having travelled to the USA and experienced its Byzantine "meal cost + sales tax + 15% or more tip on the cost of the meal but not including the sales tax" system of paying at restaurants, I'd rather stick with our much easier method of paying what it actually says on the receipt.
Moving towards a more formal system of tipping will give restauranteurs more ammunition to argue for wage cuts, and the last thing I'd want to see is vulnerable people stuck working multiple hospitality jobs for tiny wages, entirely reliant on patron goodwill to make a living wage. Sure, I can sympathise with labour costs forming the largest part of owners' liabilities, but that's always been the case where business owners hire staff - if you start a business and don't make an effort to crunch the numbers beforehand, tough luck if you hit the skids along the way.