Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[alanp]

There doesn't seem to be a general talk thread here (of the sort that doesn't really merit a whole thread to itself), other than the Klon thread which is really about foul language and liquor. So here we go.

One thing always turns me off travelling ANYWHERE not in New Zealand.

Tipping.

There is no tipping culture in NZ -- I have never, ever given a tip in my entire life. It goes against the grain -- what, you can't live on the legal minimum wage? Then your boss is a stingy f**ker who needs to be taken to the Ministry of Business since he's paying you less than law mandates. You're legally entitled to, in NZ, $13.75NZD per hour, or $550 for a 40 hour week. There's no need to hold your hand out for extra, unless you drink like a fish or give it away to Sky City casino.

That said, I do understand that minimum wage laws overseas are messed up, and thus tipping is wholly necessary from the viewpoint of getting enough money to live on. It still goes against the grain, somewhat -- it smacks of Victorian gentlemen arrogantly tossing a penny to the street urchins to carry their bags. I also understand that if you do not tip, then people overseas chase you down the street.

As a whole, it makes me highly disinclined to ever travel overseas and have to ever think about it.

[pickdropper]

Mr. Pink totally agrees with you.

[rullywowr]

"Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?"

"Whaddaya mean, you don't tip?"

[davent]

How 'bout livable wages? In passing the other day it was mentioned on the radio that some Walmarts were having Thanksgiving food drives to help out their employees.

Minimum wage here was, and maybe still is set lower for employees classified as servers. There's also been issue here lately of employers demanding payment by the servers based on what the servers should be getting tipped, 'you must pay me for the priviledge of working here'.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/11/ndp-ontario-tips-labour-law_n_3054337.html

Never have an issue with leaving a tip for a job well done, restaurant, bar, cabbie, whatever...

[snz728]

Comparing NY wages Minimum is $7.25 = $8.91 NZ for a total of $356.40 NZ weekly.
Servers in NY can be paid Minimum $5 because they get tips.  I hate having to figure out who to tip:  mailman, newspaper deliverer?
It is going up in January but employers complain they will have to lay off workers or move out of state to find cheaper labor.
How does NZ do it (provide a more livable wage)?
Found this link it's sad http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/3602911000

[alanp]

Over here, the minimum wage is the minimum wage, regardless of what the job is.

[DutchMF]

I've been in some countries where the money people make working way more than 40 hours a week is barely enough to keep them and their families alive, so yeah, I tip. Plus I like travelling to much to let tipping keep me from it. It's just one of those things that comes along with it, so I deal with it. And sometimes, it doesn't even have to be money. In Cuba, people were often just as happy with a lighter, ballpoint pen or a strip of aspirin, because those were not readily available there (seriously!). I knew that, so I brought along a load.....

Paul

[juansolo]

You'd be ok in the UK. Very little tipping occurs here. It freaked me out when I went to the US and you had to work out how much to tip everyone.

[kothoma]

I'm all for minimum wage. But minimum wage is for minimum service.
Doesn't extra service (a smile, a nice word, speed) deserve a reward?
Bad service, no tip, it's as simple as that.

[marmaliser]

As juan said very little tipping in the uk , tipping in the US made me feel uncomfortable.  I thought that the servers were sucking up and being very false just for their tips.  And even when you got bad service you feel compelled to tip.  All just a bit fake

[Willybomb]

Just finished "Heads on beds" wirtten by some guy who'd been in the hotel industry for a very long time.  The US tipping culture, from what I can gather, constitutes a big part of the actual wage and makes a big difference to what you take home at the end of the week.  Apparently slipping a $20 to the agent on the front desk can make your stay at the hotel much nicer...

Australia doesn't have much of a tipping culture per se, but if you feel like it, you can.  If anyone gets tipped, it'll probably be bartenders or card gaming staff who generally divvy up the whole take up with each other at the end of the night.  But no one expects it.  If you were tip some supermarket monkey who pushed your trolly out to the car beacuse you were busy keeping triplet 4 year olds under control he'd probably look at you wierd and give it back.

[jkokura]

Here in Canada, tipping is pretty typical in many situations. The worst practice I find is the 'mandatory' tipping that's sometimes enforced by some businesses. For example, if you go into some restaurants with a group of 10 or more, an automatic %15 tip is applied to the final bill. They say because the large group requires extra effort on the part of the server, but largely I think it's because big groups tip poorly, so to make up for it the business puts a policy in place.

Long story sort, I'm not a super huge fan of tipping, especially as it's become an expected or even mandatory practice here in North America.

When my family went for a vacation in Mexico, they encouraged us, quite often actually, NOT to tip, as tips were already worked into the prices we'd paid on everything. However, knowing how little the staff at the resort we worked at, and the people we encountered actually make, it was hard not to want to tip them.

I think the best policy any country should have is that tipping is an act of generosity based on a good encounter of service from another. I'm happy to tip anyone, but I hate being told you 'have' to. I think our country should change the policies for restaurants, and that restaurants should pay their workers better and we should simply pay our bill. But ask any server, and they'll tell you they'd rather get tips, because it's all 'tax free.' When you only get taxed on a minimum wage basis, you rarely end up with much tax at the end of the year, you keep most of your wage. If you get 'tips' to make up the large difference, and you don't claim them, you usually can walk away with all the cash, no taxes, and in the end you're a drain on our system. Servers love it. Customers who are aware, don't.

Jacob

[pryde]

God Bless America 

[davent]

Travelling is all about sampling different cultures, new foods, beverages, music and arts, languages, toilets and tipping practices, never mind tipping the toilet attendant. Embrace the differences get down and dirty with the locals, when in Rome do as the Romans...

I simply can't imagine going on some pre-packaged insulated/isolated, bubble wrapped tour/cruise where you're lead around by hand from one overpriced trinket stand to another never, yech.

Alan don't let some minor little difference in culture keep you at home, get out there have a blast, what goes down in Vegas stays in Vegas.

dave

[DutchMF]

Travelling is all about sampling different cultures, new foods, beverages, music and arts, languages, toilets and tipping practices, never mind tipping the toilet attendant. Embrace the differences get down and dirty with the locals, when in Rome do as the Romans...

I simply can't imagine going on some pre-packaged insulated/isolated, bubble wrapped tour/cruise where you're lead around by hand from one overpriced trinket stand to another never, yech.

Alan don't let some minor little difference in culture keep you at home, get out there have a blast, what goes down in Vegas stays in Vegas.

dave

Big +1 on this!