Tipping-History

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Pressurehead

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I hope this is in the right section :Non-Diving Related Stuff
We in Australia do not tip, as do many other places around the world
Will this outdated practice [ both the verb and the noun in the US] be seen as such?
The practice spread throughout the country after the Civil War as U.S. employers, largely in the hospitality sector, looked for ways to avoid paying formerly enslaved workers.
I like the way the Japanese think on this topic:
The Japanese culture is one that is firmly rooted in dignity, respect, and hard work. As such, good service is considered the standard and tips are viewed as unnecessary.
Have I stirred a hornets nest?
Last time I was in the US it was embarrassing.
 
It gets better: we pay with the card and tip in cash
 
Well, it should be embarrassing to go to another country and ignore their customs.

And it should be especially embarrassing for you to knowingly patronize businesses whose employees rely on tips for their livelihood, take it upon yourself to decide their mode of compensation is "outdated," and then decline to leave the expected tip.

I won't be impressed by your ideas about what compensation system is suitable for the modern age until you stand up boldly, insist that business proprietors mark up their prices to cover the cost of the service employees, and refuse to accept goods and services until they do.

I don't know of anybody who particularly likes the tipping system except the people who make ridiculous tips at casinos and strip bars. Those of us who work on boats completely understand that not everyone can afford a generous tip. We also understand that sometimes people forget. But high-minded cheapskates earn a special brand of disdain.
 
In cultures where tipping is standard, wages are often lower than would be livable. It's become part of the total compensation for those workers' time and effort. eg. Your homeland of Australia's minimum wage works out to be almost USD$16 per hour, while the federal minimum wage in the USA is USD$7.25. Here in Canada it ranges in between those two numbers. Mexico is around USD$7.00... PER DAY!

I consider myself fortunate that I've had the opportunities and good fortune where my hard work pays well enough to afford me relatively expensive indulgences (dining out, ordering in, travel, scuba diving). A tip is hardly a hardship for me to give and likely makes a larger relative positive difference in the recipient's life than the negative impact to my wallet. That being said... in certain places where I've been where tipping isn't practiced or even accepted... I don't, but when I'm somewhere where it is part of the culture... I tip.

As the saying goes "When in Rome..." So when you travel... enjoy and respect the traditions and common social conventions & practices of the place you are visiting.
 
I hope this is in the right section :Non-Diving Related Stuff
We in Australia do not tip, as do many other places around the world
Will this outdated practice [ both the verb and the noun in the US] be seen as such?
The practice spread throughout the country after the Civil War as U.S. employers, largely in the hospitality sector, looked for ways to avoid paying formerly enslaved workers.
I like the way the Japanese think on this topic:
The Japanese culture is one that is firmly rooted in dignity, respect, and hard work. As such, good service is considered the standard and tips are viewed as unnecessary.
Have I stirred a hornets nest?
Last time I was in the US it was embarrassing.

You always have the choice to NOT travel to places where tipping is customary. Are you the type to go a place like MX, where people are poorly paid as a whole throughout the country, and refuse to tip because doing so offends your sensibilities?
 
On the other side of the coin, I know waitresses, waiters and bartenders in the states that make over 100k US. They typically claim (to tax authorities) they make significantly less...

As a dive instructor, working for a shop, I was making $7.88 an hour on average. Tips probably brought that up to $8.
 
Well, it should be embarrassing to go to another country and ignore their customs.
I could have said it better, I am NOT ignoring your customs, I am embarrassed when I forget to tip in the US [and other places where tipping is expected], I do not "refuse to tip because doing so offends your sensibilities?" I have been caught out not having the 'right' cash in my pocket, walked away and had to go back to the hand held out, 'sorry' etc, and again , embarrassed, takes a awhile ,but we do 'fall into line".
Don't "get your knickers in a twist", it is only a question. How did it start, will it always be this way? I now understand a little from the posts above.
Back to reading about diving, I have hit a nerve here.
 
I could have said it better, I am NOT ignoring your customs, I am embarrassed when I forget to tip in the US [and other places where tipping is expected], I do not "refuse to tip because doing so offends your sensibilities?" I have been caught out not having the 'right' cash in my pocket, walked away and had to go back to hand held out, 'sorry' etc, and again , embarrassed, takes a awhile ,but we do 'fall into line".
Don't "get your knickers in a twist", it is only a question.
Back to reading about diving, I have hit a nerve here.


If I misconstrued your post, I apologize.
It does touch a nerve.
I've relied on tips at various times in my life. There are people who disapprove of tipping but nevertheless go places it's expected.
Next time you come to the US, if you're caught short of ready cash for a tip, everyone on our boats is ready to accept Venmo.
 
The Japanese culture is one that is firmly rooted in dignity, respect, and hard work. As such, good service is considered the standard and tips are viewed as unnecessary.

And Japan has been the only non-tip country where I got uniformly good service. Europe and New Zealand the service is hit or miss, with good service mostly coming from small shops where one of the owner is the server.


Last time I was in the US it was embarrassing.

I always find this funny, people come here and are confused when we do things different. Yet Americans are lectured by outsiders that we need to learn and respect other people's cultures when visiting their country's. Why is it that so many foreign visitors don't bother to do the same when visiting the US?
 
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