To tip? Or not to tip? No way!
To tip? Or not to tip? That is the question.
But in my view, it’s got a very simple answer: no.
Lots of things in our culture are becoming increasingly Americanised, with Halloween a couple of weeks ago a good case study. But one thing we don’t need to see creeping in is tipping.
The main reason for that, in my opinion, is that in Australia people are mostly paid a fair wage for the work that they do. Even our lowest paid workers are the beneficiaries of the highest minimum wage in the world. As a result, there’s generally no need to tip just to say, “thanks for doing your job”.
However, in the age of social media, there’s a new and better way to tip: leave a good review. A positive review on Facebook, Google or TripAdvisor for a business that provided amazing service is going to be far more valuable than slinging an extra tenner their way.
Similarly, jumping on your personal Facebook page, or your local buy, swap and sell page and giving a local business a pump-up is going to drive more business their way and be more helpful than a tip could ever be.
As we know, technology is changing the world. It’s also changing the way we give tips, and for once it’s leaving the cash in our pockets!