Study: one in five Australians will never tip at restaurants

What type of tipper are you? A "sometimes, but only if the service is great" kind of operator? A "get real, tipping is for Americans," style punter? Or an "of course, all the time - it's the nice thing to do" stand-up diner?

If that last type of tipper is you, you're not a common domestic breed.

A new study has shown only one in five (21 per cent) of Australians always or frequently leave a tip when dining out. Other diners surveyed either occasionally (28 per cent) or rarely (30 per cent) considered passing on a gratuity.

The study, commissioned by online restaurant reservation platform, OpenTable, and conducted by Galaxy Research, also showed that 21 per cent of Australian diners never leave a tip at all.

Based on my own experiences, the data seems to check out. Anytime I eat a restaurant with extended family, there's at least one uncle getting ruddy faced at even the suggestion of tipping.

"Australia pays a good minimum wage!" my uncle will yell. "Why should I have to give more money to these waitstaff simply for doing their job? I don't tip the bloke who fixes my dunny!"

I'm a tip-all-the-time-type bloke (*pats self on back*) unless I forget due to post-dinner whisky enthusiasm or the service and food is particularly horrible.

I understand my uncle's "I don't tip the dunny man" point of view. But if the dunny man sprinkles gold glitter in the toilet bowl or fixes a rainbow decal to the cistern free of charge, maybe he should be tipped too. That's not the greatest analogy, but you get my point.

"Australia is far more relaxed about tipping than many other countries," says John Fink, creative director at Fink Group, the owners of restaurants such as Quay, Otto and Bennelong.

"Although the hospitality minimum wage is significantly higher than many overseas destinations, our culture celebrates hard work with a gratuity seen as a gift of thanks. Creating beautiful food and a memorable dining experience is a restauranteurs' top priority, with a tip being a nice way for diners to show their appreciation."

There's also the question of how much to tip. Of the 1014 respondents surveyed across Australia, almost half (47 per cent) of diners would tip 10 per cent on the total bill, while almost a fifth (17 percent) would leave up to 20 per cent gratuity.

Knowing how much to tip can be a confusing equation. Indeed the majority of respondents (80 per cent) acknowledged they feel confused about tipping etiquette.

"Unlike in other international destinations, tipping in Australia isn't compulsory," says Lisa Hasen, vice-president of OpenTable, Asia-Pacific.

"With no set benchmark, Australian diners are often left feeling confused and apprehensive about tipping. Despite this, our research shows that Australians are willing to leave a tip when the experience exceeds expectations in a big way, be it outstanding service or incredible food."

My top five tips for tipping

• Any good restaurant will share its tips equally among all staff: waiters, chefs, cooks and (hopefully) dishies. So if it's the best goddamn croquembouche you've ever had this side of Strasbourg, but the waiter's a deadset wombat, you should probably still tip.
• 10 per cent is a nice go-to number, but by all means feel free to tip higher.
• Just because you're eating at a local Vietnamese takeaway, doesn't mean you should tip with any less gusto than if you were at three-hatted restaurant. Especially if you go there once a week and the staff always give you a free bag of prawn crackers.
• If you do tip, don't make a big song and dance about about how lucky the staff are to receive a gratuity. The staff will think you're a jerk. Everyone at the table will think you're a jerk.
• If there's a public holiday surcharge, that's because the restaurant owner is paying public holiday wages to open their restaurant and make you a chia bowl while everyone else is nursing a hangover at the beach. The surcharge is not going directly to the staff and you should still tip if you feel like showing thanks.