Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - Tipping

I have been told that Australians do not expect to be tipped in the same way we do in the US. Can anyone give me some guidance on what we should be doing? We will, for example, need to use a porter at the airports, eat at restaurants, and deal with bellmen at hotels. We will also be on a live-aboard dive boat.

Thanks

I suppose you could pretty much reverse the "mantra" of the US – if in doubt, tip – for Australia to – if in doubt, don't tip. That said, people in Australia don't frown on tipping as much as they do, say, in New Zealand, but it is certainly not as widespread as in the US, and the amounts tipped are lower.

Anyway, some thoughts:

It is probably the norm to leave a tip (either in cash or on the credit card if paying by card) in up-market and middle-market restaurants, but it is not universal by any means. If one does tip (and one should only do so if the service has been good), there is no set amount, but 10 per cent of the total bill would be considered pretty generous by most people. Certainly the 20 per cent that seems to the norm in the US would be seen as excessive.

There's certainly no need to tip in lesser restaurants, and particularly not if one has to go to a counter to order the food, even if it is then brought to the table. Australia abounds with "coffee shops": no need to tip in these either.

One does not – repeat not – tip in a pub for drinks bought at the bar. This would be a solecism of the highest order. :p It is permissible, just, to ask if the barman would "like a drink", but if I were a visitor I wouldn't try it; it's too open to misconstruction, for one thing. Just forget tipping in pubs.

I usually round up a taxi fare (e.g. if it's $15.50 I'd make it $16.00 or £17.00), and I might be more inclined to be generous if the driver had helped with luggage etc, but I have known taxi drivers in Sydney to decline a tip, and I've also known taxi drivers to round down the fare.

Personally, I wouldn't tip a hotel porter unless he or she had provided some exceptional service, which must be rare, I guess. Certainly no tipping of a hotel concierge (any more than one would tip the reception staff for checking you in).

I suppose that, when it comes to tipping, Americans visiting Australia (and many other countries) need to remember two things. First, people working in service industries in Australia are generally paid a living wage, and they are not dependent on tips as part of their income; neither are they taxed on notional tips.

And secondly, although a tip is unlikely to be refused and may even be welcome, it's worth considering that it could also be seen as subtly insulting – a way of saying that you, the "tipper", don't think the person can be relied upon to do his or her job properly unless tips are forthcoming; and/or a way of implying "I'm so well off and so leisured that I can afford to stay in this hotel/eat in this restaurant, whereas you're so poor that you have to work here serving me."

There are some threads on FT about tipping in various countries, which might make an interesting read.

My personal rule is to only tip were I get good service. If someone goes out of their way to be helpful, if they make suggestions which I end up being happy with I would tend to tip. 10% is a good tip.

Do not tip where you receive bad service!! It is a pet peeve of mine when people reward bad service. As has already been noted service staff tend to get good wages and tips are a reward not an obligation.

I don't tip in Australia. I may round a bill or a fare to make things simpler but most service staff are earning good wages in Australia. Taxi drivers seem to be a bit of an exception as they are not on fixed hourly wages like wait staff and bar staff.

I will note that I tip relatively generously in North America and places where it is part of what you do so it's not me being tight so much as it is recognising that it isn't necessary and is already included in the price being charged.

I tip taxi drivers and then only a few dollars and they certainly don't expect you to do it. One poster below said you should never tip the bar staff. I beg to differ, I sometimes just leave the change on the bar after I buy a round (if it's a couple of dollars), no need to stuff a ten dollar note in his/her pocket and say "buy yourself something nice"! Again it's not expected.

Aussie friends actually are irritated by Americans showing up and tipping our traditional %15 . . . the custom is to round up or to leave some change as a way of saying "thanks", but isn't necessary.

Bear in mind that the minimum wage in Australia is $15.50 an hour, in NZ its about $13 an hour (and they have full healthcare benefits) Your waiter/waitress is being paid well and doesn't need tips to survive.

Some interesting thoughts in this thread.

As someone who has worked in service industries in Australia - taxi/bar/restaurant - and who is a bit of a social animal - I can see both sides.

Whilst tipping is not expected (and won't get you knifed if you DON'T tip, like in some parts of the US) it will certainly be appreciated if it happens.

We actually pay our service staff a pretty decent hourly rate, so they do not need to rely on tips like they do in the US.

*IF* you get good service, by all means leave a tip, whatever you think is reasonable. No set percentage, just enough to show your appreciation.

If in a cab, *IF* the driver has bothered to give you good service (bothered to get out of his seat to open the boot, for example, bothered to talk to you to find out what your interests are, and to offer some guidance) round it up to the nearest note (so that you don't get coin change).

In restaurants however, I take a different approach.

I will ALWAYS tip, even if the service is bad. The reason for this is that if I don't tip, I am not sending a message, they might just assume that I am an Aussie who doesn't tip.

If I put down a minisculely small tip ($1, as an example) I am sending a message that the service was crap, and they need to up their game.

As for pubs, I don't tip for each drink, but I will save up my change, and at the end of the night I will leave a stack of it in the tip jar. Having said that though, my local has a policy that all tips go into the donation jar for one of the local Bush Fire Brigades (and I happen to be a member of the said Brigade) so not really sure what to do here, if I want to leave something for the bar staff, and they aren't getting it, should I?

I can donate money directly to the brigade, but I am already donating money and time.

Long story short, tip if you want to, don't feel compelled to do so, leave a tip if service is good, don't if it isn't (and ignore my advice about restaurants, that is just what *I* do).

Dave

Dave, your thoughts on tipping in restaurants are good and, while I feel that one shouldn't tip in Australia as it is unnecessary, it provides a good reason to always tip if you are going to tip.

If I put down a minisculely small tip ($1, as an example) I am sending a message that the service was crap, and they need to up their game.


As someone who worked in restaurants for 7 years I can categorically state that this is not the message that is being received.

£1 tip is considered a lot to me, but probably because I never tip, whether in USA, Canada, France, or in the UK. Even restaurants that I return to frequently to eat at, I never tip, yet the service is still the same.

In Ontario is not the minimum wage around $10? If my bill is for example, £25.92, a £20 note, a £5 note, 50p coin, two 20p coins, and two pennies is what I pay. As a masters degree student, every £1 that could be spent on tip could be spent on paying tuition debts.

In the UK I have seen tips refused by bartenders.Does this happen in Australia too? Can one count out coins to pay the bill exactly?

£1 tip is considered a lot to me, but probably because I never tip, whether in USA, Canada, France, or in the UK. Even restaurants that I return to frequently to eat at, I never tip, yet the service is still the same.

In Ontario is not the minimum wage around $10? If my bill is for example, £25.92, a £20 note, a £5 note, 50p coin, two 20p coins, and two pennies is what I pay. As a masters degree student, every £1 that could be spent on tip could be spent on paying tuition debts.

In the UK I have seen tips refused by bartenders.Does this happen in Australia too? Can one count out coins to pay the bill exactly?

In Australia, the tip would probably not be returned but rather placed in a communal tips jar. Counting out coins would be acceptable but, likewise, you will also receive your change in full so there is no need to do so.

As for Ontario, yes, the minimum wage is about $10. However, I consider that to hardly be approaching a living wage. Given the exceptionally cheap cost of food and drink in Canada and the US, I have no real problem tipping 10 to 20% depending on service.

I do not tip in Australia, well maybe very occas. at a mid to high end restaurant if the service is outstanding but much less than 10% of the bill. It is not the culture here. I do not tip taxis, porters, hotel chamber maids, ushers at theatres / cinemas, tour guides etc. If there is a blatant (or not so blatant) request for a tip, I don't eg if restaurant bill comes to $25, and I give $30. If I get change eg 2 $2 and 1 $1 coins instead of a $5 note, i grab all the coins!!

As someone who worked in restaurants for 7 years I can categorically state that this is not the message that is being received.

As a sever in America, this would certainly be the connotation.

Chris

As a sever in America, this would certainly be the connotation.

Chris

However this thread is about tipping in Australia, and it appears that the person you responded to is based in Australia.

However this thread is about tipping in Australia, and it appears that the person you responded to is based in Australia.

Quite aware of that fact, especially given that I'm in NZ right now :D. I was just explaining to that poster why someone else might have the idea that a small tip would lead to a bit of miscommunication.

Chris

Quite aware of that fact, especially given that I'm in NZ right now :D. I was just explaining to that poster why someone else might have the idea that a small tip would lead to a bit of miscommunication.

Chris

AnnaBeth was speaking from personal experience as a server in Australia, not in foreign countries such as the US or New Zealand. No idea what the tipping culture in NZ is, but I suspect it's closer to Australia's than the US'.

... No idea what the tipping culture in NZ is, but I suspect it's closer to Australia's than the US'.
Yes – on the other side of Australia's from the US's, in fact. Basically (and I suppose this is a generalisation, but still) – basically no tipping

AnnaBeth was speaking from personal experience as a server in Australia, not in foreign countries such as the US or New Zealand...
No, but (as far as I know) the thread was started by someone in the US, and will be read by people from the US, so surely it is not irrelevant to indicate what the understanding of a particular action might be by a US person doing the tipping, even if the Australian person being tipped puts a different construction on it.

No, but (as far as I know) the thread was started by someone in the US, and will be read by people from the US, so surely it is not irrelevant to indicate what the understanding of a particular action might be by a US person doing the tipping, even if the Australian person being tipped puts a different construction on it.

Indeed, and hence my reply. Although I am a pretty large tipper in the U.S., I haven't tipped much here in Australia/New Zealand yet. I did tip a couple of dollars for a beer in a sports bar in Sydney for the bartender hunting down a basketball game I wanted to watch, as she did spend probably ten minutes fussing with me. Other than that, dang, beers are $7. I can't afford to tip. ;)

Chris

Indeed, and hence my reply. Although I am a pretty large tipper in the U.S., I haven't tipped much here in Australia/New Zealand yet. I did tip a couple of dollars for a beer in a sports bar in Sydney for the bartender hunting down a basketball game I wanted to watch, as she did spend probably ten minutes fussing with me. Other than that, dang, beers are $7. I can't afford to tip. ;)

ChrisI would certainly say that that was a good reason to tip – ten minutes of fussing is quite a lot, and especially so in our brave new, comsumer-belt world. :)

AnnaBeth was speaking from personal experience as a server in Australia, not in foreign countries such as the US or New Zealand. No idea what the tipping culture in NZ is, but I suspect it's closer to Australia's than the US'. And so was I, who has also worked in the industry.

Dave

Indeed, and hence my reply. Although I am a pretty large tipper in the U.S., I haven't tipped much here in Australia/New Zealand yet. I did tip a couple of dollars for a beer in a sports bar in Sydney for the bartender hunting down a basketball game I wanted to watch, as she did spend probably ten minutes fussing with me. Other than that, dang, beers are $7. I can't afford to tip. ;) $7? You're in the wrong pplace, my local has $6 PINTS!

Dave

And so was I, who has also worked in the industry.

Dave

Maybe so, but I hadn't seen your post so I won't comment on it

Maybe so, but I hadn't seen your post so I won't comment on it Tell me you are kidding - my post was #7 in this thread, and the posts you responded to were well after that.

You aren't telling me you do a hit-and-run are you, where you don't read a whole thread before responding to specific posts, are you?

Dave

As someone who worked in restaurants for 7 years I can categorically state that this is not the message that is being received. As someone who has also worked in restaurants, if I get a zero tip, I just assume "They do not tip". If I get a tip of $30 on a bill of $500, I regard that as pretty standard. If I get a tip of $1 on a $560 bill, that tells me that something was sub-standard.

Dave

I think servers should understand the tipping customs that some visitors might have. Some, like me, do not tip at all; what is on the bill is the exact amount I pay, and I absolutely do not regard this to be insulting or indicate that service was bad. Whether the service was extremely bad or extremely good, I leave 0% tip because I have always done so, even for eating at the same restaurant multiple times. I have had some friends who will tip 0% like me, as well some who for some reason tip 50% or more. One time an acquaintance of mine tipped more than 100% on a bill of £7 for him, which made no sense to me.

I am not sure about Australia/NZ, but do restaurant workers generally understand if someone leaves 0% tip?

$7? You're in the wrong pplace, my local has $6 PINTS!

Dave

The places I drink too are far less than that too :-) The RSL and surf club both have schooners for <$4.50.

The places I drink too are far less than that too :-) The RSL and surf club both have schooners for <$4.50. My RSL has $4 schooners (members rate), but the pub has $6 pints, or $20 special, a pint and anything off the menu (Beef & Guiness Pie works for me).

Dave