Australians should embrace tipping culture?

[Bethczar]

I'm another American who doesn't mind the tipping system. There are definitely some confusing situations like when you're not sure whether/how much to tip in new situations (like your first time dealing with carpet cleaners, say).

As an American, it can another problem is deciding who to tip. For example, I would never think to tip carpet cleaners.

[MrsJWine]

I don't tip anyone other than servers and hotel service workers, that I can think of. If I were ever unsure, I would look it up and see if it's a profession where tipping has been standard for a while, or if it's new.

[Danika]

American here. I only tip waiters/waitresses, cab drivers and valets (parking my car), and hairdressers.

[Slartibartfast]

American here. I only tip waiters/waitresses, cab drivers and valets (parking my car), and hairdressers.

Yeah, those are the only ones I would think of as "mandatory" (okay, with the addition of bellhops).  And even there, servers are the only ones whose tips are socially codified as a % of the total cost - the others are "a few bucks" or "some" or "round up to an even number" or whatnot.  There are tons of other jobs which may receive tips - tour guides, baristas, hotel cleaning staff, etc - but I don't think you'd see a consensus even among Americans in a specific region whether any of those tips are "expected" versus just "a nice thing to do."

[shhh its me]

American here. I only tip waiters/waitresses, cab drivers and valets (parking my car), and hairdressers.

Yeah, those are the only ones I would think of as "mandatory" (okay, with the addition of bellhops).  And even there, servers are the only ones whose tips are socially codified as a % of the total cost - the others are "a few bucks" or "some" or "round up to an even number" or whatnot.  There are tons of other jobs which may receive tips - tour guides, baristas, hotel cleaning staff, etc - but I don't think you'd see a consensus even among Americans in a specific region whether any of those tips are "expected" versus just "a nice thing to do."

and bell boys and skycab

[Library Dragon]

This is part of my problem with the tipping culture.  Who to tip and the expectations increase and vary.  Furniture delivery seems to be a more common thing.

I just had a new extra-large lounge chair delivered to my home Saturday.  They carried out my old sofa to the garage.  I tipped them $20.  They were actually surprised that I tipped them for 5 minutes worth of work.  Well, it saved me a hassle since I didn't have to mess with it.

On the flip side last year I had a furniture delivery and when I asked with help shifting something the lead person proclaimed they weren't paid to do that.  Well I had planned to tip her and her crew for helping.  Never mind.  Then she was snippy that I didn't tip them at all.  I asked DS2 and his friends to do it later in the evening.  I gave them the tip money instead. 

Then there's the postman (I give him a box of chocolates because he makes a point of giving me my mail if our vehicles are passing in the street), the garbage men (who don't get out of the truck), on and on and on.  I'd rather tip the local fast food server who always makes sure there's no ketchup on my burger and only a few ice cubes in my drink.  She's given me better service than many others.

[MrsJWine]

I just don't tip if it's not a well-established custom. Tipping is only taking over because people do it out of nervousness. Just don't. If you're unsure, look it up.

[Lynnv]

American here. I only tip waiters/waitresses, cab drivers and valets (parking my car), and hairdressers.

and bell boys and skycab

I count restaurant delivery folks as part of waitstaff (they are just waitstaff with cars and limited table service duties), so they always get tipped too.  Add in my tattoo artist and you have my list here.  There are other folks I will tip if they go above and beyond.  But this is (off the top of my head) the list of the ones I consider to be more or less mandatory.  If something has gone so wrong that I am not tipping these folks, then I am also complaining to management.

And if I lived somewhere that tips were not part of the culture, I would be thrilled to death.  I hate having to pay the salary that, IMO, the employer should be paying.  I realize that many (or even most) people who live and die by tips are okay with the system.  But I hate it.

[Library Dragon]

Looking it up doesn't guarantee an absolute answer. 

For furniture delivery people there is contradictory advice.

One source says no, http://www.itipping.com/tip-guide-services.htm
Another says yes, http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/slideshows/the-ultimate-tipping-guide-who-to-tip-and-how-much/6

Opinions get split on tipping owners who provide hair or spa services. Some etiquette sources say no, but Peggy Post says yes. 

[CakeEater]

I just don't know how you manage all your cash. I rarely have cash on hand in the denominations that might be required to tip an appropriate amount in all those situations. I suppose you can't really ask for change, either!

We went on holidays to China a few years ago, and I found it ridiculously stressful to be always thinking about having cash, who to tip, how much, when to give it etc. And with the exchange rate on top, made it all a step harder.

[Slartibartfast]

I just don't know how you manage all your cash. I rarely have cash on hand in the denominations that might be required to tip an appropriate amount in all those situations. I suppose you can't really ask for change, either!

We went on holidays to China a few years ago, and I found it ridiculously stressful to be always thinking about having cash, who to tip, how much, when to give it etc. And with the exchange rate on top, made it all a step harder.

It's less of an issue than it used to be, because you can tip on a credit card for pretty much anything you use a credit card to pay for.  You still need cash for a bellhop or a valet, but other than that you can use plastic for your server/hairdresser/movers/etc.  I rarely carry cash because I almost never need it.

[Iris]

Just to say, we went out to dinner tonight for a birthday. There was a massive group of us, mixed orders as well as a banquet, and a significant dietary restriction to deal with. So at the end we left what was considered a big tip. So much so that the waiter gave it back to me as change and I had to say that no, that really was for her.

But now that I think about it, it was a 5% tip (because the bill was huge). I think that Australia has a long way to go before we have a US style culture.

[Danika]

I don't know many Americans who do carry cash. Most tip on the credit cards.

But it gets messy and I think sometimes workers might get offended because they are expecting a certain amount for a tip and don't always get it. For example, there are a lot of times a big group of friends will go to dinner and at the end, everyone will put their credit card on the bill and tell the server "split it 7 ways" but then some leave tips, other's don't, some don't want to tip more than 10%, some feel differently and tip more. That's why a lot of restaurants have the policy that all groups of more than X amount of people get a mandatory 18% gratuity/tip added to their bills. Then, some people don't read the fine print and see that so then they tip on top of the 18% that's already on the bill.

And then there are times when you go to a place where they advertise that the service will be Y amount of dollars, but you get your bill and it's higher. But you don't have time to talk to the server about why they charged you for X when they advertised that it would be free, because you're in a hurry to leave to go to your movie, so you leave a smaller tip because you hadn't budgetted to pay more for the service/meal.

For example, DH and I went to a restaurant that we really like the other night. It said that kids meals are free. Usually, that means one child per adult, so if you have 2 adults and 6 kids, only 2 kid meals are free. We were 2 adults and 2 kids. After we paid and left, I asked DH why he only left about a 13% tip when the server had been so great, and he said it was because the bill had included one of the kids' meals. I asked why he didn't ask about it, but it was late at night and we wanted to get home and get the kids to bed, so he didn't feel like waiting for the server to come back and ask, etc. He did pay by credit card, so he saw the bill before he paid. I don't know why he didn't ask. But I imagine this type of misunderstanding/mistake happens fairly often and then the server gets confused as to why they didn't get a higher tip. I wouldn't have handled it like my DH did, but that wasn't my decision since he paid.

[baglady]

About a year ago a bunch of us went for the first time to a pub we'd heard about that specialized in exotic beers. We were a large party and an automatic gratuity was added to our bill. But there was also a line on the bill to write in a tip.

A couple of people in our party got very irate about this -- the greediness of expecting a tip on top of a tip! -- and vowed never to go back.

I figured it was just what their system does: includes the tip line on all bills, whether or not an autograt has been charged. Sort of like Braille on a drive-up ATM.

[Sharnita]

I do think that in a tipping culture there is more of an effort to please the customer,  which I certainly appreciate.