Tipping culture: Should we tip hospitality staff in New Zealand?

By RNZ

An Auckland hospitality entrepreneur hopes to flip the New Zealand culture of ‘no tipping’ at bars and restaurants.

Luke Dallow told Morning Report a struggling economy means many hospitality spots are employing fewer waiters, so diners are getting slack service.

With the cost of goods and rents increasing, something needs to change, he said.

“And what is controllable is wages. My concept would be to reduce the menu price on the menu, then that would get more consumers into the restaurants or bars.

“Now to top this up you would tip, encourage tipping.”

He said it would mean minimum wage plus tips for wait staff, though Dallow’s maths could be a bit off.

“Minimum wage is $24 or I think it’s roughly around that at the moment, and a waitress or waiter could easily make $10 in an hour, that’s about $44 in an hour, that’s pretty good - I reckon that’s pretty good money.”

Dallow would suggest a 12.5% tip.

The minimum wage is currently $23.15 an hour.

Staff would need to be serving an average of more than $160 worth of food and drinks an hour to bring their pay up to $44, more if the tips were shared with other staff.

There would be a fair tip distribution, Dallow said, with 30% distributed between chefs, kitchen hands, and everyone else involved.

But would staff lose a sense of stability?

“Well, the best people would get the best tips and the best restaurants would remain the best, the best, the best.

“It’s then up to the restauranteur or the bar owner to create that, you just can’t be sitting on your laurels, charging $18 a glass of Heineken and go, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve got your money, good luck, see ya... go behind the bar, behind the bloody phone again and text ya mates.

“I want my staff to go out there and hussle, hussle, hussle and charge out a $13 glass of Heineken and get bonuses on top of that with tipping.”

To get consumers on board, he was setting up a couple of pop-up bars with low prices, where they can pay what they think their meal, and service, is worth.

But would New Zealanders actually tip?

Earlier this year, a roll-out of new, upgraded Eftpos machines included a new feature that asks if consumers want to tip a 5%, 10% or 15% portion of their bill.

Some restaurant owners and staff believed it was time Kiwis were a bit more generous, while others said it puts pressure on customers.

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