One of my coworkers just informed me "People from New Zealand don't tip at restaurants."

I told him I didn't believe that and would request confirmation from actual Kiwis.

What say you?

So it is legislated that tips are included on the bill? or thats just the convention that most restaurants follow?

interesting theory :P

There is an economic rationale behind tipping scemes (that revolves around signalling equilibriums). But I definitely don't feel like having that debate at the moment!

seems kinda goofy being as it's one of the Queen's countries...

sometimes those of us here in the states dont even tip. THats usually cause of crappy service or subpar food, etc...

I'm actually Canadian :P

Some restaurants follow a system similar to that here too (where the tips are all aggregated and then split amongst all the staff).

LOL, what's the minimum wage for restaurant workers? i know it was lower than the normal minimum wage when i was delivering pizza... if i woulda been stuck working for that plus tips, crappy service would've been pretty much guaranteed.

yeah minimum wage for servers is lower than it is for other job areas solely because of tipping. If they followed the same standard in NZ without tipping, that would just be highly inappropriate heh.

lots of countries doesnt use tip

sweden is one of them

hmmmmmmmmmm


another reason for me to smack you upside the head :)

the idea the you deserve every smack upside the head that you get?

they already know that ;)

It explains why:
1. I hate hate waiting on Euros. (ivan especially)
2. If scode showed up and I served him, I would slap the fluff of him.

i've been in italy and not tipping and it's been awesome to not have to tip

but the service has been abismal, so they wouldn't have got a dime regardless.

Yeah scode
You would like that.

pfft, yes and New Zealand and Australia = same difference too!

well, the typical Canadian response to being lumped with Americans is very similar to the typical Kiwi response to being lumped with Aussies.

So yes, tit for tat was gauranteed to come :P

heh,

Sounds like a plan, although we aren't half as bad as Norwegan's when referred to as Swedes.

Australia has no tipping either, stuff paying extra, you paid enough for your meal.

Suni.. galandy will get jealous :P

Scode lies, America comes to everyone's defense. We help everyone but our own

I pay my flat rate at the brothels. If she's really good then I come back, I don't give her extra. I suppose the same goes for restaurants.

You don't have to give tips in the UK either, because there is a standard minimum wage for everyone.

However, the minimum wage does depend on your age (rather than your industry):
£5.93 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
£4.92 - the 18-20 rate
£3.64 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
£2.50 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

So giving a tip doesn't really come to mind, especially if there is a service charge already.

in uk alot of places put a recommended service charge on the bill, but you can choose to pay more, less, or not at all. Its just everyone pays it or more...

minumum wage for waiter/ess where i live is 5.69/hr. as opposed to normal jobs at 8.25/hr. they do this because of tipping.

i would not want service from someone who only gets 8.25 and hour with no tipping anyways lol. i usually tip around 20% if the service was good.

TIPPPPPP THREAAAAAD!!!!!! *grabs popcorn*

I'd prefer a restaurant pay their staff a flat reasonable rate instead of tips - even if it meant increasing prices of menu items all accross the board.

Unfortunately, until that happens, I'll continue to tip 20%.

Here in Northern England, you'd tip in a restaurant/cafe, unless they are rude enough to have a service charge. 10% is customary, but ad hoc tips work too.

Wouldn't extend to any other services afaik though.

i dont even remember half the time. except one local guy who owns a few business in town. i go out of my way to put that fluffers places up for sale couple times a year. somewhat theraputic

Something to note is that when I was in NZ and (rarely) ate at a place where I was served, I felt the service was as good as in the US where people are tip dependent. The food was more expensive BUT that is because "tip" and tax are included. What you see is what you pay and there is no expectation otherwise.

The US doesn't even use the metric system, so clearly logic does not guide our decisions on how we do things as a society.

pang.. you are getting lousy service in italy? Maybe they just don't like you or something or you are either
-behaving like a tourist
-going to heavy tourist spots.


In rome the service was mostly good, but we always chatted with the waiter and asked their opinion on things. We also weren't in a huge rush (although they weren't really slow. For slow try south America lol)
In Florence i found that service was faster and the people were nicer. Same with some of the small towns.

We rarely tipped in italy.

As for tipping:

I tip my barber but only because we get along very well and he gives me good neighborhood tips:P I don't normally tip them

Delivery people I only tip if they are from a small restaurant/independent chain and they aren't loading on a delivery charge and they give good service. This is because I want to support some of the local businesses if they deserve it.

I never tip taxi drivers unless they do something extra nice (rare)

I won't tip bartenders if all they are doing is pouring me beer. If they make me something complex and well then I will tip (and never at the ACC).

I'm such a good tipper.... employee's go "whoopie" when they see I'm their customer..

when employees at a resturaunt or food place see my name, they preorder stuff to get ready for my tips :-P

Tip Drill 101