Tipping in Australia: How to Prompt for Maximum Tips

There’s no denying the data, Australians are tipping more than ever – even in the face of the ongoing cost of living crisis that’s dominated news headlines for some time now. We analysed EFTPOS tipping data from the 85,000+ Australian businesses using Zeller Terminal last year, and through the findings can see Australia is steadily become a nation of more generous tippers — despite significant cost-of-living pressures. Interesting to note is how electronic payment technology is helping to enable an increased level of gratuity within the local customer service industry. Read on to discover the latest shifts in Australia’s tipping culture, highlighting both geographic and industry-specific trends. Australians are tipping more generously. In 2024, the average tip value increased to $25.20, a dramatic 25% year-over-year (YoY) rise. This growth highlights an increasing willingness among Australians to reward exceptional service, even in a challenging economic environment. Metro areas led the charge while regional tipping declined. Inner-city areas drove tipping culture forward in 2024, while regional areas experienced a decline. Customers in metro areas tipped 26% more on average YoY, while regional areas saw a 10% decrease in average tip values. Tipping frequency on the rise. Australians are not only tipping more generously but also more frequently. The number of transactions including a tip grew by 13% YoY, with dining establishments seeing a notable 12% increase in tipping frequency. Anna-Sophie Pinter, Restaurant Manager at Brisbane's modern Japanese fine-diner NONDA, was impressed with the rise in 2024: "I honestly couldn't have been more surprised given the fact that the rent, food and all other prices just skyrocketed. It’s great to see people appreciating the hospitality we share with every guest who dines with us." Victoria was in a giving state of mind. Victorians emerged as Australia’s most generous tippers in 2024, with an impressive average tip value of $39.50. Queensland followed with an average tip of $32.20, while South Australians tipped an average of $27.80, surpassing New South Wales residents ($16.90) by a significant margin. Notably, South Australians tipped 64% more on average than their New South Wales counterparts. With Sydney being Australia’s most expensive city, it comes as little surprise that New South Welshmen were less willing or able to splash extra cash on tips, but the extent to which was quite dramatic. On average, Sydneysiders tipped 57% less than Melburnians. Adelaide experienced a tipping boom. Adelaide saw a dramatic YoY increase in tipping generosity, with the average tip value surging by an astounding 180%. It’s interesting to speculate on what was behind such a big jump – could the floor staff in SA restaurants really have been 180% more attentive than in 2023 year? Seems like a stretch. In WA, tipping goes west. Despite an average YoY increase of $2.22, Perth’s tipping culture lags markedly behind that of the other major Australian cities, with an average tip of $12.52, sitting about 26% below Sydney’s and roughly 68% behind Melbourne’s. Eat, drink and tip merrily. As in previous years, dining remained the sector where Australians tip most, with a $25.20 average tip and a 12% YoY increase in frequency. This was followed by the beauty sector, which saw an average tip value of $6.90, with the transportation sector not far behind at $5.94. Interestingly, tipping when taking a cab saw a particularly high growth rate last year, increasing in frequency by 25% YoY. As Australia’s tipping culture continues to evolve, these trends suggest a growing appreciation for the hard work that underpins exceptional customer service, even when money is tighter and times are tougher. Alongside Zeller Pay at Table and Zeller Bill at Table, Zeller Terminal 's built-in tipping function, which can be turned on or off with a tap, is one of many easy-to-use features that make it Australia’s best EFTPOS machine.

Growing your staff tips is “a win-win for everyone”. Luca Balbo spent four years on the Park Street Pasta & Wine restaurant floor as venue manager before climbing the ranks to business ownership. “I’ve been running the business for years. It was mine without being mine,” he says. “I helped my old boss to develop this idea and I supported the project 100%. Now it’s finally mine, and I can make it even better.” In his new position of ownership, Luca has been able to make a number of changes — including finding a new merchant services provider to support his ambitious growth plans. Making use of the subtle tipping prompt functionality, Luca’s staff have reaped the benefits. “We have had an increase of around 25 to 30% in tips since switching to Zeller,” he says. "Obviously, that pushes you to perform better." We sat down with Luca to learn more about his theory of the psychology of tipping, how he’s helping his staff earn more tips than ever before, and the strategies he’s using to grow Park Street Pasta & Wine to new heights. Meet Park Street Pasta & Wine Park Street Pasta & Wine is tucked away in a suburban yet central pocket of South Melbourne, which hasn’t yet found its way on to the tourist map. Because of this, locals make up about 90% of the customer base. As Luca explains, it’s all about “community and consistency. For me, it’s the best way to start a business.” Establishing a successful hospitality business is no easy feat, especially in a city where competition is cutthroat, and standards are high. “I think you can find decent to amazing food everywhere you go in Melbourne. So I try to create this little point of difference based on lots of things — not just based on good wine and good food,” says Luca. “You have to find your point of difference. You have to give this extra value.” For Luca, one of those points of difference is exceptional service. Recommending the perfect wine to accompany a dish, or spending an extra few minutes to explain the flavour profile of the famous Agnolotti dal Plin (oozing pockets of Gippsland veal and wild rabbit), for example. It’s all these extra human interactions that drive customers to leave a tip, Luca says. “I’ve read about it, and I think that 60 or 70% of a tip is inside a person. The other 30% is the role the waiter plays.” Australians’ shifting attitude to tipping Recent Zeller research found 70% of Australian diners are willing to leave a tip, which represents a significant shift in attitude. In fact, diners are 233% more likely to tip today than they were in 2017. Zeller research also found diners are more likely to leave a tip if prompted to do so during the payment flow. Further analysis of thousands of transactions processed through Zeller Terminals shows Queenslanders are the most likely to leave a tip — diners in the Sunshine State are twice as likely as New South Wales diners to leave a tip. Tasmanians are the highest value tippers, leaving an average tip of $23 per outing. The data clearly shows that subtle tipping prompts during the payment flow are a powerful strategy for hospitality owners who want to help their staff earn more money in tips. Driving a 30% increase in tips with Zeller’s tipping prompts Zeller’s subtle tipping prompts give diners the opportunity to show their appreciation for the stellar service provided. Park Street Pasta & Wine is one Zeller merchant making the most of this powerful functionality to drive 30% more customer tips. “The setting of Zeller, the way it’s laid out, it’s promoting the tip from the customer's point of view. You’ve got the 5, 10, 15% and custom amount. It’s like, if I come to you and say 'would you like some tap water?' 90% of the time, you say yes. And I pour you some tap water," says Luca. "If I come to you and say, ‘would you like some sparkling water, or just a tap water?’ It’s more possible you’re going to get sparkling water instead." “It’s the way to sell things. To show things. To promote things. I think it’s really clever.” A fresh approach from the restaurant floor First-hand experience with the restaurant’s customers and its staff, coupled with a background in economics, has given Luca the hand-on knowledge and skills to grow Park Street Pasta & Wine to new heights. He’s in a unique position, having spent years establishing trust and respect from staff while receiving direct feedback from customers. “I think it’s fundamental that a person who runs a business has been working in the industry for many years. Empires of billions and millions of dollars have been run into the ground in two years after being bought by a person who doesn’t know anything about hospitality.” When COVID lockdowns shuttered the restaurant, and there was no venue for the venue manager to manage, Luca donned an apron and got to work with the rest of the team. “I’m not a chef. But during COVID, we opened the mercato — this little supermarket we made downstairs. We divided between us with the Jobkeeper, and I was making the pasta,” he says. “We kept everybody. We didn’t make anyone redundant.” “I think it’s really important that you’re on the same page as the dishwasher, the bartender, everybody. You have to be close to the people at your restaurant. If you’ve got respect from them, you can go anywhere.” Luca’s decision to enable Zeller’s tipping prompt functionality is one of the ways he is supporting a positive work environment, and it’s having a positive snowball effect on the business. “If the tips are higher, the staff is happy. If they're happy, they work better.” “The thing that I like the most is to give my staff the possibility to have a little bit more money," says Luca. "If you create more positivity, they’re willing to provide better service and it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Our latest payments feature is here and it’s revolutionising the hospitality experience. The payment process is often the Achilles’ heel of many restaurant experiences. How many times have you received the bill, placed your credit card down, and then had to wait another fifteen minutes before being able to finally pay for your meal? Countless. This is because, until now, many restaurants have been hamstrung by a disconnection between their point-of-sale machine and their EFTPOS terminal. The time it takes for a waiter to deliver the bill to the diners, retrieve the payment terminal, return to the table, then round off the table in the POS system , is considerable. Multiply this by the number of tables in the venue and you can easily understand the aforementioned delay. Pay at Table technology is changing that. By centralising the POS and payment process into one device, Pay at Table bridges the gap between tapping or swiping a card, and settling the bill in the system. Read on to understand how this technology works and how it can help turn over tables faster, and ultimately drive revenue for your restaurant. If your restaurant is currently not using a POS system and you value efficiency and improving customer experience, consider exploring the best POS systems for restaurants in Australia . These systems can further streamline your payment process, helping you turn over tables faster and ultimately drive revenue. How does Pay at Table work? Pay at Table is effectively an extension of your POS machine, on your EFTPOS terminal. Waiters pick up Zeller Terminal , view open tables, see total outstanding bills, take payments and close tables — all on one device. Rather than the customer paying at the counter or finalising the bill in the traditional, time-consuming manner, waitstaff can deliver the bill and the mobile payment device, all at the same time. The status of a table is updated in real time and synced across all machines, reducing human error and optimising the whole operation. Benefits of Pay at Table technology 1. Increased efficiency Being able to close a table independently of the POS machine means that the latter isn’t blocked by taking payments, it can instead be used to open and manage tables. Naturally, this reduces foot traffic throughout the venue, eliminates queues, and turns tables over more quickly. Staff are freed up to process orders faster, leading to improved service and ultimately, higher sales. 2. Improved customer satisfaction Leaving customers waiting to pay for their bill can leave a bad taste in the mouth — pun not intended. Zeller Terminal’s Pay at Table functionality makes for a smoother process and offers the added benefit of allowing customers to split the cost by the number of people or by a custom amount . 3. Encourages generous tipping Zeller Terminal comes with a built-in tool which can easily calculate the fair amount for a gratuity and will provide the customer with various tipping options to choose from. Displayed clearly for your customers to review, this feature can increase your server’s tip earnings and erase confusion surrounding tipping protocol. Zeller Terminal makes it as easy as possible to prompt your customers to leave a tip, either as a percentage of the purchase amount or a custom amount. Or, you can switch the functionality off altogether. 4. Helps build a customer relationship When wait staff use Pay at Table, an opportunity is provided to spend more time interacting with the customers, ensuring they’ve had a great dining experience in your establishment. The technology also means you can email digital receipts on the spot. Not only is this handy for your customer’s record-keeping and to reduce costs and waste associated with paper receipts, but it’s a great way to expand your customer database by capturing email addresses. You may be able to use these details to keep in touch with your diners, providing them with up-to-date news and special offers that will keep them coming back to your restaurant. 5. Safer transactions Payment security is front of mind for most consumers these days. By having a mobile payment device available, your customer’s card remains in their possession at all times. This offers them security knowing that no one else has had access to their card details or identity. It can also mean fewer chargebacks for your business to handle. The next generation of payment processing Pay at Table is just one example of the many ways that traditional payments are evolving to keep up with the times. New technology is affording us more flexibility to create industry-specific solutions while emerging trends are changing the way we pay. Get started with Pay at Table today Pay at Table is currently available to use with selected POS systems. Contact our Sales Team to learn more about installing Pay at Table on your Zeller Terminals today.