Dialogue: Tips should be encouraged as reward for good service

The practice of tipping need not be compulsory in New Zealand, but should be a token of appreciation for a job well done, writes NEVILLE WALDRON*.

Tim Dare, in a Dialogue article, advocated that we should resist tipping. He was, however, dipping his toes into the commercial pool without understanding the benefits of tipping.

The Restaurant Association, representing New Zealand's leading retail workforce employer (with about 70,000 workers), is unashamedly an advocate of tipping. But in doing so, it suggests that tipping should not be expected but should be encouraged as a reward for excellent service.

In New Zealand, we do not have the tradition found in many European countries, where waiting staff see their jobs as a career and have a dedicated approach.

Many of our service staff are young, keen and doing a job as a way to pay their bills during their tertiary training. Unlike the restaurant's kitchen team, who are largely full-time employees, many of the front-of-house staff are part-timers, although increasingly the industry is employing more full-time, career-oriented staff in these positions. Waiters are paid about $11 or $12 an hour, and the industry does not see tips as a mechanism to subsidise low wages.

The restaurant industry is sometimes criticised for its lack of professionalism, in particular at the front-of-house end of operations.

While in some cases this might be valid, the industry has improved its performance over the past five years.

Overseas tourists make an important contribution to the viability of the restaurant-cafe industry and, for that matter, to the whole economy.

We communicate our tipping policy to our visitors in tourist publications and dining guides by saying: "If you enjoy excellent service during your stay in New Zealand, it is perfectly in order to offer a tip as a reflection of your appreciation."

We do not suggest that tipping should be expected on every visit. It should be reserved for occasions that are seen as special.

The roadblock suggested by Tim Dare is, in fact, damaging to the economy.

Let's accept that in normal times, when terrorist activity is not a reality, we host 200,000 visitors from the United States each year.

Then accept that they spend $807 million while here, (not including airfares).

Back home in the US these citizens, as a norm, tip 15 per cent of their bills. So that would add an extra $121 million spent in New Zealand.

By way of further amplification these American visitors spend about $161 million a year eating out, and you can calculate the huge dollars that could end up in our economy and in our employees' pockets.

A tip is a great incentive for a waiter to strive a little harder to make the dining occasion memorable. Our industry is visited generally a number of times each day by our visitors, so we have a great opportunity to leave a lasting impression, not only of our fine food and wine but also our friendly and professional service.

Then we have an army of New Zealand salespeople at large around the world.

The term "tips" is an acronym that stands for "to insure proper service", not, as Tim Dare suggests, to ensure prompt service.

Diners should tip for good service and even give a bit more if the service is fabulous. If the diner is not happy, he or she should speak to the manager at the time and obviously not tip.

How much should you tip? It should be exactly what you feel the occasion warrants. If I tip, I normally pay about 10 per cent, with a cut-off of $20.

* Neville Waldron is the chief executive of the Restaurant Association.