Oldies at Large : Vancouver BC

Well we arrived after a 16 hr flight via Auckland… Barely 2 hours after we left Bris with a turn up through New Zealand. We have gained in time which is rather nifty. I thought the night would never end however. Sleeping sitting up has never been a favourite of mine but this night was definitely more difficult and disorientating.

Seeing the snow capped Columbian Mountains in the distance though was a sight to behold, simply gorgeous. It is a prelude to sights we have yet to see as the Rocky Mountains lay beyond these. Driving on the right hand side of the road… a small nightmare. We could have been anywhere in winter Aus’, though the sky is a brillant blue, the breeze brisk and the city friendly. That we are actually in spring/summer, which is Vancouver now is our reality.

I’m Aussie : I don’t Tip! – I Only Reward for Good Service.

Why is it that tipping has now become an acceptable form of bribery and extortion?

I have come to accept that I am a Bogan in some things. Tipping is one of these things for sure. I don’t know when or how it became something of a mandatory charge in restaurants and taxi’s and other service industries but it seems that this is becoming more common. I am one for rounding-up more for convenience sake than anything else but tipping as an expectation regardless of service? You have to be kidding!

I have the expectation that I will get service when I hail a taxi (cab in US lingo) or go to a restaurant. I am there after all for a reason, mostly to eat, to enjoy friends and I am patronising their establishment from choice. Should there be more than this? If the service is crap… then I will leave. If the food is crap then I will never return and I will tell my mates about it at any given opportunity. This is free and open commercialism. Tipping to me does not enter the equation unless the service was exceptional and then likely not other than rounding up generously.