Loathe it or don’t mind it, there’s no escaping it: hospitality businesses around the country are asking for tips and customers are coughing up. An update to the humble eftpos machine may just have changed New Zealand’s service industry forever.
The newer-model machines have vibrant, backlit colour screens, perfect for dimly lit restaurants. And importantly – or annoyingly, depending on your view – they automatically calculate a 5, 10 or 15% tip when diners pay.
“Straight away. Boom,” says Paul Schrader, co-owner of central Wellington restaurant Rita. Although its previous terminals had a tipping function, he says in a dark restaurant after a couple of wines, customers were less likely to notice it.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, everyone the Listener canvassed in the hospitality sector favoured tipping. Hospo floor staff, restaurant owners and managers report the volume of tips coming in has nearly doubled overnight after their eftpos machines were upgraded to the latest model.
But it’s a good bet those in favour of the innovation are in the minority. New Zealand has not traditionally had a “tipping culture”. Restaurant staff are
