Tipping is not evil
Judging by the reaction to Paula Bennett’s suggestion Kiwis tip more, you’d think she suggested we start eating babies.
I don’t want to show off, but I can balance three plates on each arm. That’s the enduring legacy of my waiter days, along with a nervous tic whenever I see a man in a white hat.
While journalism involves frantically pulling together highstakes stories on deadline and trying not to get sued, waiting tables is still the the most stressful job I’ve ever had.
As an advice columnist I’m all about giving tips, so Paula Bennett’s suggestion that Kiwis should tip more was music to my ears. Judging by the reaction, you’d think she told everyone to start eating babies. The backlash was served up lightning fast and piping hot, with Gordon Ramsayworthy rants on the perils of importing filthy American traditions.
Naturally, the critics ignored the fact that Bennett explicitly said tipping shouldn’t be mandatory. She merely pointed out that we should tip for excellent service, or at the very least, stop actively telling visitors not to tip.
We can all agree the American tipping system is pointless and awful. Service staff get paid next to nothing, which makes tips essential to their livelihood, which means everyone shells out to stop them starving, which mean tips are almost entirely disconnected from the actual level of service provided. If your waiter isn’t much good, you give him 15 per cent. If he’s terrible, you give him 10 per cent. He’d have to toss a beer in your face and start pashing your wife before you’d stiff him altogether.
The Bennett-bashers seized upon a bunch of studies that confirm there’s almost no connection between the level of tipping and the quality of service provided. Tips are an unwritten but compulsory part of pricing in the United States, so it’s no surprise their incentive power has been blunted.
I had to dig out my Philip’s Junior Atlas from year four to double-check this, but it turns out New Zealand is actually a different country to the USA. In these fair lands, no-one expects a tip just for doing their job, and nor should they. Tips are only given to those who go above and beyond, which keeps the incentives good and sharp.
The critics are also worried that tipping is some sort of insidious neo-liberal plot to undermine wages. Surely they know New Zealand has one of the highest minimum wages in the OECD, which employers can’t contract out of? If the critics genuinely care about workers, discouraging rich people from voluntarily giving them extra cash seems like a really weird stance to take. 123rf
As usual, pragmatic little New Zealand is already in the sweet spot of common sense on this issue.
With that being said, there’s always room for improvement. Some people want to foster a better service culture. I can sympathise with this. Service is nonexistent in some parts of the world I’ve visited recently. Dour restaurateurs act like it’s an inconvenience to take your money, and waitstaff barely glance up from their phones to slap down a menu. Mostly I find this amusing, but it does get old having to ask for a drink three times.
On the rare occasions I get amazing service, I leave a tip as encouragement. More than once I’ve had an earnest server run out the door after me, trying to give me my ‘‘change’’ back.
If you want to help cultivate a better service culture in New Zealand, tip for excellent service – but never tip as a matter of course. If you like things just the way they are, don’t tip. I can assure you that no-one in the kitchen is cussing out the cheapskate on table 3, or vowing to spit in his soup if he dares return.
This ain’t America, and it never will be. As long as tipping remains the exception, not the rule, none of the related problems arise, and everyone’s incentives remain correctly aligned: Diners get better service, restaurateurs get more motivated staff, and hard-working folks get sweet little ‘‘cha-ching’’ moments of recognition to break up the long and gruelling shifts. Who could begrudge them that? Got a money question? Email Budget Buster at richard.meadows@thedeepdish.org, or hit him up on Twitter: @MeadowsRichard.