An American waitress has gone viral after vowing to “never serve Australians again” – but her lengthy rant about the difference between our tipping cultures has backfired spectacularly.
Alexis Zarya was left furious after waiting on a table of “cheap” Aussies currently on holiday in the US.
After racking up at $200 bill, the family paid in full, but didn’t leave Alexis a tip for her services – a common US practice.
This sent the waitress spiralling, prompting her to post a video on social media detailing her earnings while also condemning her international customers, and telling them to “get with it.”
But Australian users were quick to clap back, pointing out the apparent flaws with the U.S. tipping culture, and claiming her video was “rude”.
“Sounds like a problem y’all need to address to your government, not Australians,” one scoffed.
“We don’t tip in Australia, especially not for rude workers,” another lamented.
Someone else agreed: “With that attitude I would have deducted money.”
Alexis’ earnings for five hours work proved to be another sticking point for Australian viewers, as she revealed she’d earned way above both country’s average minimum wage.
“I made $83 for my hourly, and $150 in tips,” she said in the viral video.
“So I made $46 an hour.”
When converted to Australian dollars, that is around 70 bucks for sixty minutes work.
The National Minimum Wage here is $23.23 per hour or $882.80 per week, while in the US, it is $7.25 (about $A11) per hour.
“You made $16.60 before tips. That’s the equivalent of 25 Australian. That’s the average wage over here, and we don’t get tips. I think you’re doing OK,” one pointed out.
“In Australia, they earn about $30/h for service. There’s no tips unless you are amazing,” agreed another.
Others suggested the Aussies “genuinely didn’t know” about the difference in tipping cultures, adding if it is so important, the restaurant should display a sign.
“Why should they tip when you are already getting paid?” one asked.
“It’s prob not intentional, we don’t do that here in Aus, so we find it hard to think to do it,” argued one woman.
Another added: “That meal was expensive. To demand a tip is unreasonable.”
“Crazy that a tip is an expectation,” mused someone else.
However, there were some who defended the waitress, stating it was “poor form” not to respect other cultures when travelling.
“If you go overseas, you gotta make an effort to be aware of cultural differences,” one said.
“Travellers should do better when visiting other countries,” agreed another.
“No excuses for being ignorant,” someone else scathed.
