Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Splitting the restaurant bill in Sydney and New Zealand

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Check out http://linktrim.com/4za

Mainly, it says, 'don't tip for the sake of it.'

At least round the price up to the nearest paper bill. Don't expect the server to bring back 50 cents or $3 at an expensive restaurant.

Sorry, hit the wrong button - this is what I meant to say.
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I think the advice in the website mentioned by Jed applies equally to Australia.

If you feel the staff deserve recognition, 5-10% is OK. Tipping seems more common in pricier restaurants, which isn't particularly logical to my mind, but there you are.

Mostly you'll find service in Australia slow by American standards. Australians attach a somewhat different set of expectations to the term "good service" than Americans, or so a marketing survey once concluded: speed of delivery is less important than (genuine) friendliness, although that doesn't mean that it should be glacial. Where service in many places could really do with an improvement is that too often you become invisible after the main course has arrived. (That's another thing - here the first course is called the entree and what Americans call the entree is the main.)

One plus is that as the waiters aren't actually reliant on tips to pay their rent, there is much less pressure on diners to "eat up and get out" than in the US.

Is is just me or is the most difficult time to get a waiter's attention is when you want to settle the bill?

BTW, the site mentioned by Jed also advises: "Tipping is not widely expected in Australia, but it is usual to tip around 5% to 10% or round up to the nearest A$10 (US$6.50) for a substantial meal in a good restaurant."

(http://frommers.com/destinations/aus...212020880.html)

When we dine with others, we don't ask for seperate bills, We total up what we ate/drank and throw in that much with a couple of dollars extra. We are quite open about it and total up with a pen if necessary. After all, why not? It's our money. I will normally leave a tip for good service, it might only be a couple of dollars on a $30 bill. If there is a jar on the counter, I will put money in there instead so that all the staff benefit.