I have managed restaurants of all levels here in Australia, over the course of 13 or so years, from 5-star exclusive restaurants to currently managing a "bistro-style" food outlet.
In Australia it is not "obligatory" to tip, nor is it compulsory, however, a tip is given if the customer deems that he or she has been given service that they would otherwise not have expected, or that the "server" at the time went out of their way to "exceed the customer's expectations".
I stress the
exceed the customer's expectations, for that is what really sets the minimum service given and service that invites a reward if you will from the customer, saying that you have exceeded their expectations.
It seems that, and this is from my extensive experience in a service industry that, the more "exclusive" or high-standard a establishment is, the more likelyhood that a tip is given. Of course the service must match the "outer appearances" of a establishment to warrant this.
In short, i tip, wether it be in a "lowly cafe", or be it in a 5 star establishment, because i was given not just service but, exceeding my expectations type of service...
I have always wondered if Australia were to adopt a pay structure similar to that of the U.S. in that hospitality service staff were only paid a small amount per hour, and relied so heavily upon tips or gratuities to make up the rest of their pay each week...
I would hazard a guess that a lot of food outlets would improve their service standards ten-fold, for there are a lot of places that offer mediocre service standards at best.
