Big Day Out 2014– Aust&NZ– Pre-partys, Travel Info&Roll Call

yellowledbetterman80

Princess Bulldozer wrote:

simonster80 wrote:

nah just phone them up. i had jetstar opened in one tab, tiger on another tab so i could compare. then i called them and they looked it up for themselves to confirm it

I might do this

Thanks again.

no worries we need to save money where we can here, it may not work everytime for example sydney to adel looks like jetstar is already the cheapest but virgin air for example may do the same price beat gaurentee

Princess Bulldozer

simonster80 wrote:

Princess Bulldozer wrote:

simonster80 wrote:

nah just phone them up. i had jetstar opened in one tab, tiger on another tab so i could compare. then i called them and they looked it up for themselves to confirm it

I might do this

Thanks again.

no worries we need to save money where we can here, it may not work everytime for example sydney to adel looks like jetstar is already the cheapest but virgin air for example may do the same price beat gaurentee

I might have to contact Virgin Blue, but there is nothing about it on their website.

yellowledbetterman80

yeah i saw nothing on virgin website.


update: normally booking via phone there's a booking fee however since they did a %10 price beat gaurentee for me that fee seemed to be waived. just booked online syd to adel, to avoid this booking fee i did a bank transfer. this doesnt work with every bank either, cheers

Kiwi In Oz

Hey Jodie,

Going to

Auckland
Gold Coast
Sydney 1 & 2
Melbourne

I've got a wedding in Christchurch on the 1st Feb otherwise..........

Looking forward to meeting a few jammers on tour (again )

PS Still got spare reserved seats to Oakland, Portland and Vancouver - face of cousre

ldent42

Do you guys really not tip out there? I read something somewhere, I think it was tripadvisor or something, that said tipping isn't as customary in Australia as it is in the US and I just want to get some feedback from real life Australians on that. I generally over tip, because i come from a long line of bartenders and waitresses and it's just internalized behavior for me.
My breakfast got me thinking about this.

I ordered breakfast from my usual spot, but it's raining so I give the guy an extra $1, which means a $4 tip to bring my lazy ass coffee ~10 blocks in the rain.

If I'm sitting down someplace, be it a bar or restaurant, tip is generally 15-20%, and only under certain circumstances more than 25%

For taxis, $2-$4 depending on a variety of things. Speaking of taxis! Do you guys typically jump in the passenger seat or the backseat?

And what's the protocol in NZ for tipping? There might be a cabbie somewhere in Auckland that owes me like $5.

doompony

Tipping doesn't happen in nz.

morello

doompony wrote:

Tipping doesn't happen in nz.

+1. I second what doompony says here. We don't tip in NZ, unless you're at a rather posh restaurant & the service has actually been excellent but even so they get an ok wage here so it's not required.

ldent42

thanks for the info !

I looked this up for Oz before PB answered, it turns out that in Melbourne a waitress has to be paid the minimum wage which is over $16 an hour. Where I'm from, the minimum wage is $7.25 but waitstaff or 'tipped workers' like waiters have a minimum wage of $5 an hour.

Thanks for clearing this up, this is really good info to have and probably just saved me a lot of money.

Princess Bulldozer

We don't tip anyone anywhere anytime.
Maybe a really good bartender or waitress, if it was excellent excellent excellent.

Taxi, usually back seat.

Princess Bulldozer

Kiwi In Oz wrote:

Hey Jodie,

Going to

Auckland
Gold Coast
Sydney 1 & 2
Melbourne

I've got a wedding in Christchurch on the 1st Feb otherwise..........

Looking forward to meeting a few jammers on tour (again )

PS Still got spare reserved seats to Oakland, Portland and Vancouver - face of cousre

Awesome
I'll update later.
Wish I could hit those US dates.

doompony

morello wrote:

doompony wrote:

Tipping doesn't happen in nz.

+1. I second what doompony says here. We don't tip in NZ, unless you're at a rather posh restaurant & the service has actually been excellent but even so they get an ok wage here so it's not required.

before the pixies we went to some tapas bar under the sky tower (or.. near it) and when i went to pay the bill i got totally tricked into tipping. when i rejoined my friends and made a comment about how weird the eftpos was making me tip they were like "you DIDN'T tip them did you? idiot.."

...dang.

Princess Bulldozer

duska3419 wrote:

thanks for the info !

I looked this up for Oz before PB answered, it turns out that in Melbourne a waitress has to be paid the minimum wage which is over $16 an hour. Where I'm from, the minimum wage is $7.25 but waitstaff or 'tipped workers' like waiters have a minimum wage of $5 an hour.

Thanks for clearing this up, this is really good info to have and probably just saved me a lot of money.

Just remember though, the cost of living in Australia is much higher than the US, so our minimum wage has to be relatively higher to compensate or we would have many people living in poverty.

-Emma-

duska3419 wrote:

thanks for the info !

I looked this up for Oz before PB answered, it turns out that in Melbourne a waitress has to be paid the minimum wage which is over $16 an hour. Where I'm from, the minimum wage is $7.25 but waitstaff or 'tipped workers' like waiters have a minimum wage of $5 an hour.

Thanks for clearing this up, this is really good info to have and probably just saved me a lot of money.

Tipping isn't expected . If you go to a cafe or restaurant for a nice meal, you could tip a few dollars when you pay your bill or some cafes might have a tip jar at the counter, but you don't have to tip.

As you said, the minimum wage here is higher and the cost of living is high too. Eating out can be quite expensive here so you'll probably be glad that you don't have to tip an extra 15-20% like you do in the US.

ldent42

Princess Bulldozer wrote:

duska3419 wrote:

thanks for the info !

I looked this up for Oz before PB answered, it turns out that in Melbourne a waitress has to be paid the minimum wage which is over $16 an hour. Where I'm from, the minimum wage is $7.25 but waitstaff or 'tipped workers' like waiters have a minimum wage of $5 an hour.

Thanks for clearing this up, this is really good info to have and probably just saved me a lot of money.

Just remember though, the cost of living in Australia is much higher than the US, so our minimum wage has to be relatively higher to compensate or we would have many people living in poverty.

higher than ny? :? how much is a small latte (or flat white) at a coffee shop? (yes, the price of coffee is what i intend on using as a basis for my budget. )

doompony

$4.50 or so.

Princess Bulldozer

duska3419 wrote:

Princess Bulldozer wrote:

duska3419 wrote:

thanks for the info !

I looked this up for Oz before PB answered, it turns out that in Melbourne a waitress has to be paid the minimum wage which is over $16 an hour. Where I'm from, the minimum wage is $7.25 but waitstaff or 'tipped workers' like waiters have a minimum wage of $5 an hour.

Thanks for clearing this up, this is really good info to have and probably just saved me a lot of money.

Just remember though, the cost of living in Australia is much higher than the US, so our minimum wage has to be relatively higher to compensate or we would have many people living in poverty.

higher than ny? :? how much is a small latte (or flat white) at a coffee shop? (yes, the price of coffee is what i intend on using as a basis for my budget. )

$4 or so.

I lived in San Francisco for 6 months last year and I was so surprised to realise that we pay through the nose in Australia for a lot of things. My rent was cheaper in SF than it is in Brisbane. And Brisbane is a large town in comparison to SF.

ldent42

I'm gonna need an earthquake preparedness lesson from the auckland crew . :?

morello

duska3419 wrote:

I'm gonna need an earthquake preparedness lesson from the auckland crew . :?

It was fine in Auckland. Up at my work we all sat around wondering at what point we should get under our desks. I felt another aftershock about 10 minutes ago.

doompony

we were under our desks. it was terrifying.

moretonbayfig

duska3419 wrote:

Do you guys really not tip out there? I read something somewhere, I think it was tripadvisor or something, that said tipping isn't as customary in Australia as it is in the US and I just want to get some feedback from real life Australians on that. I generally over tip, because i come from a long line of bartenders and waitresses and it's just internalized behavior for me.
My breakfast got me thinking about this.

I ordered breakfast from my usual spot, but it's raining so I give the guy an extra $1, which means a $4 tip to bring my lazy ass coffee ~10 blocks in the rain.

If I'm sitting down someplace, be it a bar or restaurant, tip is generally 15-20%, and only under certain circumstances more than 25%

For taxis, $2-$4 depending on a variety of things. Speaking of taxis! Do you guys typically jump in the passenger seat or the backseat?

And what's the protocol in NZ for tipping? There might be a cabbie somewhere in Auckland that owes me like $5.

Tipping in Australia, isn't expected but is appreciated. I don't usually don't tip if I'm just having coffee and cake in a cafe, but always tip at least 10% for table service if I'm having a meal. Give the tip as cash directly to the waitperson where ever possible (or put cash in the communal tip jar). Don't pay it as a 'gratuity' as part of your bill on a credit card - I'm not confident that this gets to the wait staff. That's just my two cents worth of advice - I have friends and family members who get angry with me for leaving a tip for a "person who gets paid to do that job" but I think that's a bit of a dog-attitude really.