(Grin!) Fair enough too. Cultures are different — here a tip is considered an insult by many.
It was explained to me this way, when I emigrated 15 years ago: New Zealand was settled originally by people leaving England from the servant class to make a better life for themselves, with nobody as their “master”. This is probably why New Zealand has an egalitarian feel to it, with a really blurry line between our classes.
Tipping reinforces the servant/master relationship, in many ways. It’s one thing to pay a fair price for something, and quite another to pay for servitude — which is something that our settlers left back in England.
We still get excellent service, but that’s because it is an expectation of the job rather than something driven by the tip. Waiters (in fact everyone in NZ) receive a minimum wage, which is currently sitting at $12.50 before tax per hour. That’s not a huge wage, but one can live on it by being careful.
this is interesting to me... and something i can talk with my father-in-law about, as he is from New Zealand... he sees many things differently... however, he is a great tipper...
I think here it’s b/c tipping is considered free market earnings—you work hard, you get paid more. Esp when I was growing up, 30+ years ago. The guys, and some girls, worked tobacco or fished/clammed to make money, b/c it’s a fact none of our parents had any to give us. Waitressing and schoolteaching were one of the few ways a female could get out of some of the more backbreaking stuff. Not that waitressing isn’t hard work—it’s just easier than hauling nets or oystering or farming.
The only “classes” here are “locals” and “tourists” LOL
That reminds me of something I wonder about...so many on this thread say that tipping insures better service. One poster said the question "had long been settled..." why did I think of Algore?
Anyway...it seems to me the same argument works for third world countries like Mexico...when you bribe someone, don't you get better service?
Where's the logical line between tipping and bribing? It seems to me it's just a matter of degree.
Tipping reinforces the servant/master relationship, in many ways. It’s one thing to pay a fair price for something, and quite another to pay for servitude — which is something that our settlers left back in England.
That's how it was explained to me in the first English pub I went to. Of course I left a tip - stiffing the waitstaff is about the worst thing you can do in an American bar - and they insisted on giving it back and told me (politely as ever - those English!) that tips were for servants. It is fine to buy the barkeep a drink, though, and if he chooses to drink it later, that's his own business.
That was at the beginning of my trip, down in Salisbury. I finished up in London, and THOSE bartenders had long since gotten over the shame of accepting a tip.