By An outspoken Australian has pleaded with his fellow citizens to stop copying American tipping culture, saying hospitality workers are paid enough and food and drink are already among the most expensive on the planet.
The frustrated customer took to Reddit to rant on Sunday and claimed tipping culture was trying to “sneak in” in Australia, with many restaurants already placing “service payments” on restaurant receipts.
“In Australia, we strongly believe in fair pay for a fair day’s work. We don’t need and shouldn’t expect to tip people, in any industry, ever,’ the frustrated poster wrote.
“I’m so sick of it that I can’t even be polite anymore when a company has the guts to ask.” I pay you, pay your fucking employees right.
An outspoken Australian has pleaded with his fellow citizens to stop copying American tipping culture, saying hospitality workers are paid enough as they are (stock image)
The frustrated customer claimed the tipping culture was trying to make its way into Australia (pictured, people at a cafe in Sydney in March 2020)
The Reddit user said the no-tipping rule should also apply to ride-sharing services like Uber, restaurants, bars or taxis.
“No matter what they are or what they do, NO ADVICE,” the user said.
“I know things here in Australia are deteriorating rapidly, but we are not at USA level yet and anything we can do to stop us from sinking any lower must be done.”
The Reddit user then asked others in the thread what they thought of the tipping culture, with many agreeing it was out of control.
One user said they also liked that while a menu item was $25 in Australia, no tax was included on top of the set price.
Another Australian now based in the US said not expecting to leave a big tip in restaurants was one of his “favorite things about Australia”.
Food and drink prices in Australian capitals continue to soar, with the price of staples such as burgers, sandwiches and coffee higher than last year.
In Sydney, for example, a large flat white coffee now costs an average of $4.50 in most cafes.
Coffee experts also predict that Australians will pay up to $6 by the end of the year due to soaring inflation due to rising transport and operating costs.
This, combined with the rising cost of living, has deterred many Australians from eating out or ordering takeout, avoiding the need to tip staff or delivery people.
The Reddit user said no-tipping rules should apply to ride-sharing services like Uber, restaurants, bars or taxis (pictured, restaurants in Darlinghurst in May 2020)
Another Reddit user said not being expected to leave a big tip when eating out was one of his ‘favorite things about Australia’ (stock image)
“It took me a few months to get out of the habit of adding 13% to the total of everything when I moved here,” one American shared in the Reddit thread.
One Australian user said he felt “embarrassed” about having to tip in other countries.
“I’ve been to America many times and hated the embarrassment of tipping. Do I tip? How much should I tip? What’s fair? Was I supposed to tip? tip and I didn’t they said.
Another American said he agreed that tipping culture sucks.
“You tip the hairdresser, the movers, the restaurant – even takeout. Even Starbucks, even the ice cream parlor! Once at a foot massage center I left a 20% tip and the ladies yelled at me, it should be more,” they said.
“Restaurants, sandwich shops, bars pay starvation wages expecting customer tips to compensate.”
In Australia, a bar manager can earn up to $80,000 to $100,000 a year (pictured, a pub in St Kilda Melbourne in October 2020)
Some site managers in Sydney have offered new workers $2,000 signing bonuses after the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out foreign workers
The commentator said his teenage son worked at an ice cream shop and was paid below minimum wage, which is $9 in his state.
When they encouraged him to ask management for his full salary, their son was refused and told that tips make up for the loss.
“Also a lot of companies steal tips. He didn’t get all of his tips. So please fight tipping culture,” the user said.
In Australia, a bar manager can earn up to $80,000 to $100,000 a year, with hospitality staff even offering generous signing bonuses of $2,000.
New incentives for hospitality workers have come after venues across Australia suffered critical staff shortages following the Covid-19 pandemic
The worker incentives came after sites across Australia suffered critical staff shortages as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sydney’s exclusive Rockpool Bar & Grill was offering dishwashing staff up to $90 an hour for weekend nights, but was still struggling to get workers in.
The owner of Pizzeria Pompei in Bondi, George Pompei, said in November that his $2,000 signing bonus was being turned down by applicants.
Mr Pompei said potential workers preferred to stay on JobSeeker, a $750-a-week disaster payment that left many hospitality workers not needing to return to work immediately.
The payments cost the Commonwealth $1 billion every week and were scrapped in Australian states when 80% of the population had been vaccinated.