TIPS

[Galesa]

2 hours ago, isnowman said:

A Canadian here, would like to add my perspective to the conversation. Like the US, many employers in Canada  ( mostly food/ bar type establishments ) do not provide their staff with a liveable wage, hoping the consumer will supplement the wage with a tip. Is this right, no, does it happen, yes. 

The solution is simple, force ALL employers to pays a liveable wage, the consumer would see a price hike but then know that they don't need to tip. Reality would be the same amount of money would come out of the consumers pocket at the end of the day.

As far as on the cruise, I have no idea what the staff are being paid. When I order a drink in a bar and the waiter brings it over, I will most likely give them a US 1$ tip ( that's $1.40 CDN  ), not because I'm trying to buy their loyalty, but because I think they deserve it. At the end of the cruise I have probably spent an extra $ 20 to $30 on tips, again my choice.

I hope this doesn't bother people, my choice, again not trying to buy their loyalty.

 

 

Thanks Isnowman. I'm currently in South Africa. Tips are not encouraged or expected. I gladly tip hospitality staff however as I know their wages are low. But, the difference here is restaurant and bar prices are extremely cheap. Steak for $20. Beers less than 4.50 for a pint. A really good meal with excellent service and copious amounts of alcohol with a view to die for, cost less than $50! I tipped almost $20 as a consequence. Zero resentment.

 

Conversely in North America, where I suspect tipping started as a means of keeping prices low, in my experience at least, like for like, is no cheaper than here in Australia where staff are paid a proper wage.

 

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, Galesa said:

But, the difference here is restaurant and bar prices are extremely cheap. Steak for $20. Beers less than 4.50 for a pint. A really good meal with excellent service and copious amounts of alcohol with a view to die for, cost less than $50! I tipped almost $20 as a consequence. Zero resentment.

 

I think it is important to keep in mind in cases like this that it is probably cheap for you. For locals it could be a just within their budget eating out treat and when tourists start tipping generously it can lead to price hikes that price locals out of those venues entirely or have them turned away in favour of what business owners hope will be higher tipping tourists. Sometimes being too generous can lead to other problems🙄. 

[ilikeanswers]

3 hours ago, JJK2008 said:

I'm not an expert on the subject by any means and there are a number of "explanations" and "theories" on how tipping began in America. Some claim it was brought to the states from England as a part of Aristocratic society. The "well to do" giving a "tip" to low-end employees as a small gesture of gratitude. Is this accurate??? 

 

While it is true tipping was invented in the Tudor era as way for Nobles to show favouritism amongst their servants, American style tipping really started in the Reconstruction Era as a way for Southern restaurant owners and hoteliers to continue not paying their black staff after the abolishment of slavery. Over time restauranters realised the practice could be applied to all people and as white people got affected the southern states did try to ban tipping but by then it was so entrenched restaurant lobby groups managed to quash any legislation. In the North it was Prohibition Era that accelerated the spread of tipping as speakeasies didn't pay their servers so they only earned tips. The end of the Prohibition era those now legal bar and restaurant owners didn't want to go back to paying servers and since the New Deal excluded restaurants and eateries from the minimum wage tipping just became normalised across the country. 

[Pushka]

On 5/9/2024 at 12:04 AM, Galesa said:

Thank you for your post JJK.

 

I really don't have "a thing" against tipping and do often. I prefer how we do it here in Australia but respect that in North America tipping is considered differently.

 

My particular beef is when people tip bar staff in particular, with the expectation the tip will endear them with the bar staff and as such will get preferential treatment at the expense of other non- tippers at the bar.  I honestly feel that has no place on a cruise ship, with guests from around the world, that are unused to tipping as a normal and regular practice.

I said exactly this on a different forum here and lit a fire. 😂. I call it a bribe. 

[MicCanberra]

9 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I see someone brought up the subject of the POS terminal. That has some interesting twists for the international traveler. We can't use our debit cards overseas (at least my financial institution doesn't support that) so we would use a credit card to pay. This opens up the whole percentage "fee" for using the credit card. Which seems to be a thing in Oz. Hotels demand a credit card to book, some even demand prepayment months in advance. Then charge a "fee" because you used a credit card. That is just off putting to me. Whatever the fees charged by the POS terminal provider are part of the cost of doing business, build it in to the price. 

I agree, it may only be 1 or 1.25% for most credit cards or 3% for Amex, but it is an annoyance. It is a merchant fee just like company tax and such,it should be built in.

Originally started in businesses where cash was king and credit cards were not. Now nearly every business does it, even when cash was never really used and actually discouraged.

[JJK2008]

47 minutes ago, Pushka said:

I said exactly this on a different forum here and lit a fire. 😂. I call it a bribe. 

Yes, it is a very volatile topic for sure. IMHO people can do whatever they choose, tip, don't tip, round-up, whatever. It's their choice. We certainly will tip when we believe it is deserved. What I find offensive are the ones who ask the questions about tipping and will continue to press the issue when they don't get the answer they want. If you want to tip, then tip. If you don't want to tip then don't. You don't need a "justification" to do it or not and then forcefully engage the people who answer you in the way you disagree with. I think that attitude falls right in-line with the mindset of those who go to a Non-Tipping country, know the country's protocol but will still force their opinion/action onto the society there by ignoring the protocol because they know "it's the right thing to do." That arrogance is blinding IMHO. 

 

Sorry for the venting. No more tipping talk. 

 

John  

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I agree, it may only be 1 or 1.25% for most credit cards or 3% for Amex, but it is an annoyance. It is a merchant fee just like company tax and such,it should be built in.

Originally started in businesses where cash was king and credit cards were not. Now nearly every business does it, even when cash was never really used and actually discouraged.

 

Yes, I have noticed this too with many of the places I frequent use to be fee free now have little signs saying they have fees. One bakery I have been going to for years always paid card and my last visit they put up a little sign saying 1.5% fee for CC and Debits. 

[cruiser3775]

10 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

That has some interesting twists for the international traveler. We can't use our debit cards overseas (at least my financial institution doesn't support that) so we would use a credit card to pay.

That's just not correct. You can use a debit card overseas without incurring extra costs. What you need is a debit card with no foreign exchange fees. There is a choice of these if you search in your home country.   You can apply online and get one in minutes. You don't need to do a credit check, because the money in the account is yours, not the bank's. They will then post you the card, but you can usually use the account straight away on your mobile phone.  All you have to do is transfer some money from your regular bank account into the new debit card account. 

It is a good idea to have one of these "no foreign exchange fees" debit card that you use for travelling overseas. Just load it with enough for the trip. Much safer that using a debit card linked to your main bank account at home, and the exchange rates will be better.

[mr walker]

A number of years ago I decided to not comment on tips/tipping. I'm sticking to that 🙂 

[ceeceeDee]

4 minutes ago, mr walker said:

A number of years ago I decided to not comment on tips/tipping. I'm sticking to that 🙂 

Me too! I have an opinion, but I keep it to myself!😂

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, mr walker said:

A number of years ago I decided to not comment on tips/tipping. I'm sticking to that 🙂 

No comment. 🤣

[yarramar]

2 hours ago, mr walker said:

A number of years ago I decided to not comment on tips/tipping. I'm sticking to that 🙂 

Maybe not a comment, but still a political statement 😁

[Over from NZ]

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I agree, it may only be 1 or 1.25% for most credit cards or 3% for Amex, but it is an annoyance. It is a merchant fee just like company tax and such,it should be built in.

Originally started in businesses where cash was king and credit cards were not. Now nearly every business does it, even when cash was never really used and actually discouraged.

Yep. Yet you can go to the supermarket where they work on low margin, high turnover.. and they don't charge an extra cent if you use your c/card. Obviously the c/card companies are having their wicked-way with some retailers charging them up to 3% when they can charge the big retailers next to nothing. Time they were taken to task as a near-monopoly. 😁

[Blackduck59]

3 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

That's just not correct. You can use a debit card overseas without incurring extra costs. What you need is a debit card with no foreign exchange fees. There is a choice of these if you search in your home country.   You can apply online and get one in minutes. You don't need to do a credit check, because the money in the account is yours, not the bank's. They will then post you the card, but you can usually use the account straight away on your mobile phone.  All you have to do is transfer some money from your regular bank account into the new debit card account. 

It is a good idea to have one of these "no foreign exchange fees" debit card that you use for travelling overseas. Just load it with enough for the trip. Much safer that using a debit card linked to your main bank account at home, and the exchange rates will be better.

The fact of the matter is we would have to open an account with a totally different institution, with a totally different debit system. We can withdraw cash from an ATM but we can't pay with our debit card. We are considering doing this but we really don't travel overseas that much. I just think it's BS that vendors who require you to give a credit card number and even take Pre-payment on that Credit Card and still have the cheek to charge a percentage fee on that transaction.

[cruiser3775]

4 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

The fact of the matter is we would have to open an account with a totally different institution, with a totally different debit system

Yes, that's the point. The big bank debit cards simply do not offer the service that some of the newer entrants do. I have absolutely no loyalty towards Australia's big banks, which have been ripping off customers for decades. I am happy to go with a newer debit card which is filling a need for travellers. It's really not much trouble at all to open the account online.

[OzKiwiJJ]

17 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Yes, I have noticed this too with many of the places I frequent use to be fee free now have little signs saying they have fees. One bakery I have been going to for years always paid card and my last visit they put up a little sign saying 1.5% fee for CC and Debits. 

A lot of small businesses took a financial hit when most people stopped paying in cash during Covid so I can understand why they have added the charge. I don't like it though. 

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

The fact of the matter is we would have to open an account with a totally different institution, with a totally different debit system. We can withdraw cash from an ATM but we can't pay with our debit card. We are considering doing this but we really don't travel overseas that much. I just think it's BS that vendors who require you to give a credit card number and even take Pre-payment on that Credit Card and still have the cheek to charge a percentage fee on that transaction.

lyle i do not have credit card, just anz visa debit, use it here and used it overseas in atm and purchases, no problems. being old school i always carry a couple of hundred cash.

 

sorry for typing, but last week had a big fall and smashed left shoulder and arm.am left handed. was in hosp and a lot of pain.

[Jean C]

8 minutes ago, NSWP said:

lyle i do not have credit card, just anz visa debit, use it here and used it overseas in atm and purchases, no problems. being old school i always carry a couple of hundred cash.

 

sorry for typing, but last week had a big fall and smashed left shoulder and arm.am left handed. was in hosp and a lot of pain.

Oh dear, it never rains but it pours 😪 I do hope your shoulder and arm heal fully and don't leave you with any ongoing aches or pains. When you say "smashed" that sounds really nasty. Prayers and thoughts with you, heal well 🙏 🤞 

[Blackduck59]

12 minutes ago, NSWP said:

lyle i do not have credit card, just anz visa debit, use it here and used it overseas in atm and purchases, no problems. being old school i always carry a couple of hundred cash.

 

sorry for typing, but last week had a big fall and smashed left shoulder and arm.am left handed. was in hosp and a lot of pain.

 

Well that's not good news Les, I had a great fall last month and my ribs were very upset with me for weeks. Speedy recovery mate, pain sucks.

Thanks for the tip about the debit card, we haven't looked into it deeply yet, we have lots of time.

[MicCanberra]

34 minutes ago, NSWP said:

lyle i do not have credit card, just anz visa debit, use it here and used it overseas in atm and purchases, no problems. being old school i always carry a couple of hundred cash.

 

sorry for typing, but last week had a big fall and smashed left shoulder and arm.am left handed. was in hosp and a lot of pain.

Bummer Les, hope you recover quickly.

[mr walker]

38 minutes ago, NSWP said:

sorry for typing, but last week had a big fall and smashed left shoulder and arm.am left handed. was in hosp and a lot of pain.

Strewth mate, that's no good. Tracey & I both wish you a speedy recovery.

 

Hope you weren't up trying to wash the top of the car or similar 😮

 

Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of your friends want you to be safe & healthy

[cruiser3775]

45 minutes ago, NSWP said:

i do not have credit card, just anz visa debit, use it here and used it overseas in atm and purchases, no problems.

That ANZ Visa debit card is going to charge you $A5 every time you use an ATM to withdraw cash PLUS 3% of the amount of any transaction. That makes the exchange rate for foreign currency a lot more expensive.  It doesn't have to be like that, if you shop around for a 'no foreign exchange fees" debit card.

Sorry to hear about your fall, and hope you are resting up and feeling better soon.

[MicCanberra]

U Bank, is fee free, and international fee free. Have used it overseas ourselves, no issues.

[dillpickle48]

Hope you are feeling better soon Les.  You have a lot of friends here who care.

[arxcards]

23 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

U Bank, is fee free, and international fee free. Have used it overseas ourselves, no issues.

How is the online services on this Mic - can you do online banking with this account while overseas? Looking ahead, that looks like the biggest limitation for my current visa debit due to rather stringent multi-factor authorisation options. Going to be away for 3 months next year, and it would be nice to pay our bills easily from the balcony.