Does Your Waiter/Waitress Irritate You?

#21 i am an Australian, and every time i have eaten out, & recieved good service we have tipped. At times, when we recieve bad service we don't. We do not see the need to tip, if you are not satisfied with the service!............................................Simple eh?

And #20, good to see you talking for all Australia you thightwad!

#32 on the very rare instance when I get bad service I bring it up with the person/manager, sometimes this results in compenstation sometimes not, difference is its taken on board and results happen, maybe this is the case in America as well but based on some of the previous posts it appears not to be.

#37 I don't recall saying I speak for all Aussies.

I have no problem tipping if deserved - if anything I'm likely to overtip as I won't want to under tip someone. I'm sure countries that have tipping aren't going to change the system anytime soon if ever and yeah, us Aussies just have to put up with it when traveling to these countries but you don't have to be so rude about helping educate us into a new custom, strauss, this is a forum for people to ask questions, if you can't answer a question except to insult the poster maybe your the tightwad for not sharing knowledge.

On a whole I don't like it that I as a visitor to another country can determine someones pay by tipping or not.

#38 -- I take it therefore that there are indeed times when you pay for what you didn't get, i.e. good service. So that it's not such an Aussie thing not to do that, as you said at #25.

On the very rare instance I get bad service in the US I reduce the tip accordingly. One hopes, as in your case, that the lesson is taken on board. But it's in my control; the reduction in my expense doesn't depend on the management.

The impression I get on the USA branch is that generally English-speaking foreigners here think the service is better than at home. (I haven't kept track of whether Australians in particular think so.)

Having said that, I don't like the whole tipping thing and wish we would get past it. The important thing for visitors here to remember is that we haven't got past it and you won't get us past it by stiffing your waiters/waitresses, you'll just result in their not bringing home the compensation they deserve.

Of course you sometimes pay for what you didn't get, and not just in service, sometimes I pay when I'm told to 'enjoy' a meal and I didn't :)

Here's another way to look at things, when your in a country that doesn't require tipping to make up wages, do you still tip? (ie, Australia)

#40 -- No. I may not bother to collect every penny of change on every occasion but I wouldn't ever leave anything like 15%. Autres pays, autres moeurs.

#40

I never tip in Australia, some people are starting to, but I am holding out against the evil invasion, I hate tipping and don't want it to become the norm here.

In general, I finding tipping somewhat distasteful in the same way I find the very existence of charities in rich countries a cause for concern - this said, but I do do it, somewhere between 10 and 15%, and do donate to charities.

I believe in US it's taken as an insult not to tip whereas in other countries it's almost an insult to do so (since it it taken to demean both parties). It's a cultural thing.

As a waiter at 17 on yon bonnie banks of Loch Lomond I found almost all US visitors immensely polite, and somewhat sympathetic if I was busy. Except the day when one left me a 2p tip to make a point about poor service (delays) and I gave it back to him - he saw the manager and I got a half day's suspension, albeit a paid half day.

P.S. Re. my earlier comment about 'trax's post: I much admire 'trax and the info she posts herein; I've said so a few times; very rarely, I find it too long. Anyway, another thing I like about 'trax is that she exercises the welcome self-restraint which sees her not 'defending' herself where others would rush in - some may take this as aloofness, but there's no doubt in my mind it's good grace, and good sense. (That I am not famed for self-restraint doesn't mean I can't admire others'!)