It’s been creeping into our lives for years now. On the card reader at the end of your meal. On the tablet screen at your local cafe. In the ordering app you have no choice but to use before even receiving any service. Tipping in Australia. It’s getting a bit out of hand.

For some reason, we’ve imported by far the worst part about dining in the US and tried to make it a thing here. A quick look online suggests that many Australians are against the idea of tipping. Every conversation is almost unanimously critical of its ongoing rise here.

It’s unfortunate that our cashless society means that cafes and restaurants are now much less likely to get any loose change in their tip jars than in years gone by.

But times have changed and businesses need to keep up rather than trying to force a culture of tipping in Australia. If they want more revenue, they should raise their prices. If they want their workers to earn more, they should pay them more.

Every single one of us knows that we have the ability to add a tip to our bill. Let us make up our own minds and reward a good experience when we want to rather than use sneaky tactics to elicit a predetermined percentage from us.

There doesn’t seem to be much of an incentive for businesses to do away with tipping in Australia. To business owners, it probably seems like the worst that can happen is a customer hitting ‘no tip’.

Really, the worst that can happen is a customer decides to just never go back. A lot of us don’t want to have an often awkward and potentially uncomfortable situation at the end our meal.

Tipping point

On a recent trip to Hobart, I visited two highly rated restaurants, one of which I will name later and the other which I will not. You’ll soon find out why. I think the contrasts between these two experiences show why tipping in Australia often doesn’t make much sense.

At the unnamed restaurant on my first night in Hobart, I’m one of the first to arrive for dinner. I’m quickly shown to a table and the waitress pours me a glass of water. After looking over the menu, I order a cocktail, a steak and a side of potatoes.

The drink comes out pretty quickly and I almost finish it by the time the food arrives. Both the steak and the potatoes are cooked well and quite tasty.

The food is a bit spicy, so I empty my cocktail and water. Nobody comes over with a water refill or to take a drink order at any point. This is a little unexpected considering how quiet it is, but no worries, I finish it all just fine.

The waitress clears the plates and I ask for the bill. She shortly returns with a card reader showing the total, which was just under $95. Also on that screen are the dreaded suggested tips of I believe 10%, 15% and 20%.

Trouble tipping in Australia

Having not been blown away by the service, but also wanting to avoid any kind of awkward interaction as the waitress hovers right above me, I decide to basically round up and tip $5.

I click on custom tip, hit 5 on the keypad and then confirm. It’s only after tapping my card that I realise my mistake… Like most of these types of machines, you need to type the dollars and the cents in, so I should’ve hit 5 and then two 0s.

In my effort to avoid a potentially awkward interaction, I somehow made the interaction about the worst it could be. Choosing ‘no tip’ just says, “I’m not a tipping person”. However, tipping 5 cents says, “that’s about what I think your service is worth”.

I immediately turned red with embarrassment and couldn’t leave the restaurant soon enough, vowing never to show my face in that part of town again.

A tip top experience

The following day, I went to have dinner at Bar Wa Izakaya, a popular Japanese restaurant.

I’m seated at the bar and given a whole bottle of water. Then one of the workers walks me through the menu and helps me choose my first drink. Since I had skipped lunch, I order their yakiniku platter with wagyu beef, chicken and lamb as well as an okonomiyaki.

The restaurant seems to be basically full but everything is moving like clockwork. I have a a great view into the kitchen from my seat and it’s impressive how everyone is working together.

Observations from the bar

While waiting for my food, I happen to hear that it is one of the worker’s first shifts. Everyone is being patient and taking time to show them things. The newbie is doing a great job as a result.

That may seem like a random thing to mention, but it shows me that this is a quality place with quality people. Also, I’m sure many of you have experienced some pretty shit training before, and it was nice to see the people here doing things so well.

The first food to arrive is the yakiniku platter. All three meats are delicious, but the wagyu beef is on another level. I could eat a whole bowl of that stuff.

With top notch service, my glass also never sits empty for long. After running through some options with one of the bartenders, I order a great gin-based cocktail with a Japanese twist.

Plate up

The new worker receives the unenviable task of pronouncing okonomiyaki for the first time as he hands me the dish. He nails it though.

I just manage to finish off what is the best okonomiyaki I’ve had outside of Japan. Then I decide to order one last drink to end what is by far the best meal of my time in Hobart.

Feeling full and maybe just a tiny bit tipsy, I stand up and go to pay. While chatting about how much I enjoy everything, the worker casually reaches over with the card reader and I tap to pay. The total is roughly the same as the unnamed restaurant.

After exiting, I think about how much of a contrast this meal is to the night before. At that other place, I received good food and drink and just so-so service. For that, the expectation of a tip was thrust upon me.

But at Bar Wa Izakaya, which has amazing food and drink and equally amazing service to back it up, there was no expectation to tip. even though I would’ve been happy to give one if the thought had occurred to me.

Next time I’m in Hobart, you can be sure I’ll go back there, and I’ll try my best to remember to leave a tip as well. That is how tipping in Australia should be.

My final thoughts on tipping in Australia

I’m happy to reward top quality places that don’t expect anything more from their customers than the price listed on the menu, and I will continue to avoid places that insist on an Americanised tipping culture that has no place here in Australia.