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?
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?
