How much should I tip in America? Top tips for Aussie travellers

As if the shoddy Aussie dollar wasn’t bad enough, tourists now have to navigate the insanity of ‘tipflation’. See our tipping tips and how much you should pay.

Australian travellers have always needed to factor tips into the budget when visiting the US, but a sharp upswing in the amount expected and the places you will be asked have left many scratching their heads and clutching their wallets.

Giving a few extra dollars to your cab driver, waiters and the guy hauling your luggage goes without saying.

But buying a chocolate bar, grabbing a takeaway coffee and even shopping for clothes are some of the circumstances which could now see you asked to tip – often via an automatic prompt on the EFTPOS payment screen.

As overwhelming as that may seem, not tipping can be an egregious faux pax so it is important to be discerning.

Tipping service industry workers is not viewed as optional in the US.

When it comes to service industry workers, tipping is never viewed as optional in the US – and for good reason.

While the exact amounts vary state to state, these employees are paid notoriously badly and often lack benefits including health insurance.

In some places they can be paid as little as $A3.26 an hour – although employers are required to make up the difference if the employee doesn’t make the additional $7.83 in tips to reach a take home pay equivalent to federal minimum wage.

Former Perth resident Kenneth Hart has lived in the US long enough to be well across the practice of gratuity.

But he reached his tipping point at a recent sports game in his new home of Texas when in the absence of any human interaction, he was asked to tip a machine.

“The thing that gets me is when a tip is requested and there isn’t actually any kind of service,” Mr Hart explained.

“For example, the stadium in Austin has self-serve bars where you put your drinks on a scanner and it gives you a total and you pay it and walk away.

“It asks for a tip defaulted to 25 per cent now. Madness.”

Former Perth man Kenneth Hart now calls Austin, Texas home. Picture: Supplied

Mr Hart is not the only one taken aback, with a new survey of 2000 Americans by Talker Research showing 31 per cent of respondents had been asked to tip for a service they would never have considered tipping for in recent weeks.

America Josh CEO and founder Josh Pugh is from Adelaide but now calls Manhattan’s trendy Upper East Side home.

Mr Pugh spends his days welcoming and educating the Australian ex-pat community on the many intricacies of life in the US through his popular website and social media platforms.

Since making the move from Australia in 2017, Mr Pugh has witnessed significant ‘tipflation’ in New York City.

“The standard tip here has risen. Most people used to expect 15 per cent but now the standard is around 18 to 20 per cent – especially in places like restaurants,” Mr Pugh said.

America Josh founder and CEO Josh Pugh. Mr Pugh is formerly of Adelaide and now lives in the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City. Picture: Supplied

Despite technically being at the customer’s discretion, Mr Pugh said tipping was a must at sit down restaurants and for anyone performing a service for you such as cutting your hair.

“When you go to a restaurant and you see the prices on the board, in your head you need to add an extra 10 per cent for tax and an extra 20 per cent for tip. If you can’t afford that, then you can’t afford to eat there,” Mr Pugh said.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m very understanding of how much that hurts.”

Mr Pugh said tipping is a frequent talking point in the Aussie ex-pat communities he hosts.

“I absolutely have friends and people in the America Josh community who tell me they are cutting down on eating out because they can’t afford that tip which is something they know they want to give to the people serving them,” he said.

Brisbane’s Nicole Brettle, 35, moved to New York to pursue a career in acting, but given how difficult it is to crack into the industry, she also holds down a day job as a server.

“Given the cost of living in NYC, without tips I wouldn’t be able to survive,” she said.

Nicole Brettle, previously of Brisbane, moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. She works as a server in a Manhattan restaurant and tips are an important part of her livelihood. Picture: Supplied

Ms Brettle said not only do servers often have to pool tips with other tables to ensure they all take home a similar amount at the end of the night, servers also often ‘tip out’ other staff, including those working out the back on a per table basis.

“This doesn’t change if someone doesn’t tip. So essentially it’s costing a server money to serve you if you don’t tip,” she explained.

On the other side of the coin, she too is frustrated at the increasing number of situations where tips are requested – including her local deli.

“I will often find myself with a payment machine in my face with predetermined tip selections and often the suggestions are insane,” Ms Brettle said.

“I think counter staff deserve tips because of how hard they have to work. Do I think they deserve 25 per cent? Absolutely not.”

The US is not the only country where tipping has become an issue.

It’s not just in the US where tipping has become a hot-button issue, with fears cafes and brasseries in the French capital are already trying to get tourists to cough up extra euros ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year.

Despite a legally mandated 15 per cent surcharge – often already factored into menu prices – and a customary 5 per cent tip on top – The Times of London is reporting some owners are hoping to cash in on tourists’ lack of tipping knowledge by getting them to cough up more.

But the masthead reports restaurateurs are not differentiating between locals and tourists – meaning Parisians are also left paying more.

“With the waiter watching while you make your card payment, you feel very uncomfortable if you don’t add a tip,” The Times quoted one local as saying.

TOP TIPS FOR GRATUITY IN THE US

● Tip on the total before tax is added.

● The standard tip is now 18 per cent.

● Tips are optional when you get takeaway, including coffee.

● They are not considered optional if someone performs you a service. This includes sitting down at a cafe or restaurant, haircuts or beauty treatments, food delivery, cabs, bellboys etc.

● Many Eftpos machines carry automatic tipping prompts which you are free to ignore if you feel the situation doesn’t warrant a tip.

● Most restaurants allow you to tip via card.

GLOBAL TRENDS IN TIPPING

● Tipping is considered highly offensive in Japan.

● Tips were once banned in China as they run contrary to the tenets of communism. Gratuities are now considered “acceptable” but not expected.

● Tipping practices vary across Europe. Check your bill for a “service charge” – this indicates a tip is unnecessary. Hotel staff may still expect a tip.

● In both South America and Africa, 10 per cent is the going rate.

● Small bills and loose change are appreciated throughout much of Asia and the Middle East.

Originally published as How much should I tip in America? Top tips for Aussie travellers