The subject of tipping has again raised its head but the question many are asking is does New Zealand really need to adopt another American tradition?

Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett put the word out last week for New Zealanders to tip more often which, in turn, would encourage better quality service at restaurants. It is an interesting call and one that draws mixed responses in a country where tipping is foreign, and often left to foreigners.

Ms Bennett does not want tipping to become mandatory but believed it should be a reward for good service and an incentive for waitstaff to improve their service.

She described it as a ''plus, plus''. People will enjoy their jobs more and be better paid.

In the United States tipping is pretty much considered compulsory. The usual amount can be up to 20% of the total bill. But some waitstaff in that country are also paid a pittance in hourly rates and rely on tips to boost wages.

New Zealand wages for waitstaff are traditionally low, at minimum wage or just above, and the hours can be long and unsociable. That can rub off on some staff, who seem disinterested, bored and give the impression they would rather be anywhere else than tending to your dining experience.

As a consumer, you learn to appreciate and welcome good, attentive and genuine staff.

But as an employer, there must be an expectation staff, even those earning minimum wage, should always provide good service. After all, it reflects on the establishment.

Depending on what side of the fence you sit, there are arguments for and against tipping.

The Etu union believes increased tipping would allow restaurants to get away with paying staff poorly. International research also suggests tipping can unfairly reward white, young, and attractive front-of-house staff at the expense of others.

However, the hospitality industry is, not surprisingly, behind increased tipping.

The Restaurant Association considered tipping a useful tool to help retain staff. An association spokesman said the restaurant industry had tight margins and therefore it was tough for operators to push up wages. The association believed New Zealand had not yet embraced tipping because our hospitality system was relatively young.

If it was to become widely accepted in this country, a more transparent means of tipping would need to be adopted. The current method does not necessarily reward the quality staff tips are intended for.

Tipping sometimes involves leaving coins in a jar at the front counter or, more recently, having eftpos machines which allow for a tip percentage to be included in the bill.

The problem with communal tipping is there is no guarantee the quality staff who deserve, or prompted, the tip ever see its full benefits. If tipping is to be encouraged then the money should be handed directly to the staff who have earned it, rather than into a pool of funding which is then distributed evenly among staff.

If the aim is to encourage better service then rewarding individual quality staff is the only way to achieve that.

There is no doubt tipping has increased in this country and much of that is thought to be because of the increase in United States visitors to our shores.

Love it or hate it, tipping will very likely continue to increase given the continued rise in tourism. However, there will remain a core of people who will object to paying for good service, something that arguably should exist anyway.

This article was originally sourced from the Otago Daily Times here.