After two Australian-style brunch deprived years abroad in New York, the smashed avo with a poached egg, side of Vegemite and long black I ordered in a Melbourne café for my first meal back triggered a reaction that could have given Meg Ryan a run for her money.
But to my horror, as I went to pay at the counter, the barista averted his eyes and swivelled the tablet screen to reveal three options for a tip. Immediately I was transported back to Manhattan, where I participated in this awkward interaction multiple times per day.
It’s a slippery slope: one day its tipping, the next it’s the imperial system, branded ambulances and a new class of working poor.Credit: iStock
As someone who fled Melbourne during the lockdowns, I must have missed Australia’s trend towards tipping, which I’m told emerged following the pandemic as a show of appreciation to a battered hospitality sector, especially in Melbourne, which endured multiple........