I’ll give you a tip
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325818)
Rockingham, Australia
January 27, 2019 6:39pm CST
JJ (@myklj999) wrote about tipping wait staff. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this. In Australia, we don’t tip although there is often a jar on the counter where we can tip if we want to. So when we go overseas tipping is foreign to us and we have to try to work out how much, is it enough, not enough, etc.
We heard a funny story from our Ocker friend (Ocker is a rough and ready Australian) when he was visiting Spain I think or it might have been France. He hadn’t received good service and his side dish hadn’t turned up at all. When he paid the bill the waiter stood waiting for his tip.
Our friend said he wasn’t giving a tip because the service wasn’t up to scratch (hadn’t been good) and what was more, he hadn’t received his side order. The waiter stormed off and returned with the side order, plonked it down in front of our friend and again held out his hand for his tip.
The friend said ‘I’ll give you a tip. Be kind to your mother’. A table of Americans to the side applauded and our friend left before the fight broke out.
Photo of a cake display in Melbourne
To the waiter/waitress I overheard complaining earlier this evening: Are you a salesperson working on commission? You didn't 'make a sale'. I came in and...
24 people like this
24 responses
@noni1959 (9886)
• United States
28 Jan 19
When I eat out and the service is good, I tip. I do have a time with large tips being expected for cashiers ringing up all-you-can-eat serve yourself places and some fast food. It would be better if employers paid them a decent wage and put a sign tipping not expected. A place in Los Angeles does this and they get a lot of business and he's able to pay his employees well.
2 people like this
@shaggin (71666)
• United States
28 Jan 19
Oh my gosh wow I absolutely love the tip the man gave the rude waiter. I went to a Chinese restaurant once and they waited right there for their tip as well. I find it's rude. I always leave a tip so they don't need to stand there and expect it in such a rude manner.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jan 19
It is rude. On our last day in a hotel in Luxor, Egypt, the wait staff hovered all over us and would have fed us our breakfast if we'd let them. I find that very intimidating and rude. There was no way they were going to miss out on their tip.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118449)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Jan 19
That was some quick thinking on your friend's part when the waiter again demanded a tip. Here in the US, it is expected that people will tip their waiters, but I've never seen a waiter hold their hand out for the tip. To me, that is just plain rude. If any waiter did that to me, I would purposely withhold giving them a tip.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
28 Jan 19
@JudyEv the brain surgeon probably appreciated hanging out with someone who didn't know him so treated him as an equal, just another tourist. i hope they both won at the casino!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jan 19
@hereandthere They certainly enjoyed each other's company.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jan 19
He is a funny guy and gets himself into some incredible scrapes. Anther funny story about him: he went to a big football match in Paris on a weekend and helped an Asian with directions, etc. They ended up going to the match together then had a meal, did the same the next day then went to the casino. At the end of all this, he discovered his companion was a very famous brain surgeon in Paris for a top-level conference. That's the sort of guy he is. Always has these great stories to share.
3 people like this
@redurnet (1799)
• United Kingdom
2 Feb 19
I think tipping is so difficult when you visit another country. I'm actually mathematically stunted so even if someone told me what percent I'm meant to tip I would struggle to do the sum! I prefer just being able to leave a tip on a table or in a jar and not worry about it being the 'standard' amount I'm supposed to be tipping. I think that differences in tipping should be allowed given the service you receive isn't always the same.
2 people like this
@flapiz (22403)
• United Kingdom
28 Jan 19
Hi Judy! I really believe that tip is given for good service and nothing more but I’m guilty of giving tips due to the tip culture. I find it very appalling when someone who doesn’t do his or her job well expects a tip. It should not be an expectation but rather a form of gratitude for exemplary work.
This employees are paid salary for their job and some establishments even have service charge. Tipping is not mandatory and I think sometimes people forget this.
1 person likes this
@flapiz (22403)
• United Kingdom
28 Jan 19
@JudyEv Well that’s true but then they do know what they signed up for. Now if they need and want tips then they must work hard to provide good customer service.
Like some customers aren’t very well off too and earn low wages as well. But are still giving tips. It must be worth it at least.
I know some waiters who are disrespectful.
1 person likes this
@ilocosboy (45157)
• Philippines
29 Jan 19
That is good thing for him. He could be a lawyer
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129482)
• Israel
28 Jan 19
@JudyEv
I always found it is hard to know what to tip and since I do not go out much to each I am at a loss as to what to give them. I agree with your friend that since he got bad service he should not tip and what that waiter did surely did not deserve a tip at all. I like what your friend said to him.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jan 19
Yes, if you're not used to tipping, it can be a bit tricky.
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jan 19
@Happy2BeMe It was a guy and he was apparently quite aggressive.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
28 Jan 19
@JudyEv you probably not but she did not deserve a tip because she did not provide the service required of her. Hope it was a lesson learned for her.
1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
28 Jan 19
Oh man. Yeah, that guy did not deserve a tip other than the one he got. What nerve. Even in the United States, sometimes tipping is SO customary, by those who work on tips, some of them forget that the tip is not their pay necessarily, but something attached to the level of service they provide.
1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
3 Feb 19
@JudyEv In the United States, those who work on low wages and tips tend to, unfortunately, FORGET what constitutes a good tip or a bad one, or none. I always say, a tip should never be EXPECTED because part of your wage comes from a tip. A tip should be EARNED, and that is why it is PART of your wage.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169973)
• United States
28 Jan 19
I would like to be at that dessert counter. Sometimes in the US..you will get a bill with the tip added automatically or..worked out how much your tip should be. I try to tip fairly most of the time.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Jan 19
I love the cakes that look like little dogs. Tipping is tricky for us but we don't often encounter it.
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jan 19
He is such a funny guy. The first date with the girl he eventually married ended with them both fleeing through the kitchen of the restaurant and out the back door. 
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Jan 19
Luckily we don't have tipping in Australia and I do hope they don't bring it in. We seem to pay enough as it is without adding tips into the reckoning.
