AUSTRALIA VS AMERICA DIFFERENCES, Part 3 

In Australia we don't like to be disturbed very often at an establishment. For me i'm fine if i'm checked on once, maybe twice. In America hospitality/retail workers just seem so needy to me.

Lived in the US for 5 years. Tipping was servitude, as an Australian it was disturbing and offensive. The business owner should pay staff, not me as the dinner.

in the us they are extra nice because they are chasingt a tip. so its false niceness. not genuine.

I'm an Australian in America. Yes, the service here is unquestionably better, but only because American service staff don't make money otherwise. I'd rather know that the girl at McDonalds is able to pay her rent than hear her say "have a nice day" because she wants an extra dollar. If I could, I would ban tipping and just pay people real wages.

I really enjoy these difference videos, as an Australian it's great to see my world from a different perspective :)

When someone is extra nice to you knowing you wont tip, that is genuine. People depending on tips to get a living wage is a terrible thing.

I thought bandaid was standard here?

Ha! "Adi-das" is pronounced that way because it is the name of the original person who started the company, Adi Dassler. So his company was "Adi-das" but made into one word Adidas. It seems to be Americans who pronounce it as "A-de-das". By the bye, his brother who had originally worked with Adi, broke away after a disagreement and started another shoe company called Puma.

1:25 - Customer service. You couldn't be more wrong at looking at it. Yanks (Americans) have a false customer service mindset, the person has to fake being nice to get tips and such. Australia has WAY better wages, the average minimum retail worker is on $20ph, We dont require people to tip the staff member. You order once, they bring the food and if you have issues you signal them for whatever it is you need otherwise they wont bother you any more. tipping is demeaning. 5:10 - as for getting up at 3am to buy a TV thats half price. and Brand name fanatics, in short Australians are not brainwashed by the materialistic mindset that Americans have. MUST HAVE this and that. you dont seem aware of this.

Now sure where you are, but we've always called them Band-Aids and Tupperware, as well as plenty of other things. But yeah, we don't use Xerox as a verb, although I'm very surprised she hadn't heard that term.

tipping is not our custom, service is also no big deal . you buy you eat like it or not. tipping is demeaning and i dont like it and its not the money ,its embarrassing. flinging some poor flunky a few cents. yuk never ,never.

I have never met an American as nice as you seem, as an Australian I think some people are teasing you (it's a national pastime) everyone I know says "band-aid" "Tupperware "but I haven't heard xerox since the "80s

I think it is important to mention that maybe one of the reasons our massive sales are not as crowded is because Australias population is significantly less than the USA

I've lived in Sydney my whole life and have only ever heard people call a band-aid just that 'bandaid' ! I think in the UK they say 'plaster'

I've been to Zambrero as well. It's a terrible mexican food chain. If you want better mexican food from a chain with better customer service, go to Guzman Y Gomez. It's way better.

I'm slightly perplexed... when I lived in the USA I was so surprised by the lack of customer service considering that they relied upon tips in order to earn a living. I genuinely felt that every time I went into a restaurant, there was an expectation that no matter what standard of service they gave there was an expectation to tip.

Ive always noticed the whole "Americans use brand names" through TV. Like you'll say Windex instead of window cleaner...

Oh man, I went to a 60s American themed restaurant on Chapel Street the other day and the forced smiles and jokes just put me off so much. Just wanted to chat with my friends and this guy kept coming over and asking how we're doing, like something might have gone wrong in the ten seconds since he last asked... I'd rather a disinterested server any day.

Bribing staff to be nice to you by tipping seems to be a bit fake. (Aussie viewpoint). As you say some people love what they do others don't

Don't forget he most important holiday, Melbourne cup day.

With customer service you will occasionally experience bad service but perhaps what you are experiencing as lesser customer service is simply a server or hospitality worker not fawning over you in the desperate hope of a good tip. Australians don't generally need people to be servile or obsequious and if someone does behave in that manner it is often considered as rude and sycophantic and that will be regarded as bad service or worse sneaky behaviour. I personally found customer service in America quite poor except in the cafe's and restaurants.

I've worked in customer service and I'm Australian and shit customer service upsets me too, I do not like it when I feel uncomfortable when purchasing something. It comes down to poor training and poor hiring practices, not tipping. I have never been tipped and my incentive is doing a good job and making the customer smile :) Then again I used to go with my ex to this cafe run by this old couple who were migrants from somewhere and the customer service was so bad we found it amusing. But we only got like chips and burgers there.

One thing I couldn't stand when I visited the US was the waiters hanging around all the time. Cultural differences.

I say bandaid and Tupperware, I’m curious to know what part of Australia you’re referring to

i just want a hamburger , not an experience.

Your videos on this topic are really well thought out, you're looking at things a bit deeper than most of these kind of videos. I appreciate your perspectives! I hope you are enjoying life in Oz xx

Please do a video on the holidays here! I’m Australian and I LOVE watching your videos on Australia vs. the US!

christmas. Coming in from the pool to the cold house where your aircon has been blasting for 3 days straight.

We have tips, but they are not forced by law like in the USA, its a bonus sort of thing and not an expected thing. Like when they say, keep the change.

I love your videos! Im applying to continue a masters in AU so I'm watching as many vids as possible. Any advice as a student in regards to paying for school?

a thing that I've noticed that is different between Aussies and Americans is that Americans just hang up the phone without a "see ya" or "good bye" not always but a lot.

I have just stumbled accross your videos and as as an Australian I really have enjoyed them good work could you maybe do a video on the political differences as I think that would be extremely interesting

I'm Australian and love ya work! Keep these observations coming.....they're bloody great.

We may not use Xerox as the universal word for 'copy' but with Hoover being a very popular brand of vacuum cleaner, many people will say 'I'm going to Hoover the floor'.

These were cool videos Ashley, interesting to hear your perspective and the funny differences.

The only time I would get up at 3 am for anything would be for tickets to AFL Finals if my team had made it to the Finals.

Thanks for the video!

We have a black Friday, usually once per year whenever the 13th is a Friday

So the thing with customer service here in Australia (I've never been to the states so I can't comment on that) is that reputation and word of mouth seems to be way more effective than traditional marketing tools. You saying in casual conversation to your mates that you had a bad experience at a particular place will influence their decisions when they're looking for somewhere to shop at a later time. I've seen businesses built on word of mouth and a good customer service reputation. The incentive to provide good customer service (from an employee's position) is job satisfaction and work environment, if the company isn't providing good working conditions its likely that their customer service will suffer. This provides incentive to the employer to keep their employees happy, rather than the employees sucking up to customers for tips. Ofcourse everyone has their bad days, that's when a smile or a small chat, even someone asking "how are you?" can make all the difference. TLDR: If you're experiencing bad customer service don't shop there.

Thank you. Yes, please make more videos on this subject. 💯

I work in retail... I do bar, I've done retail at department stores and IT stores... Customer service is paramount. We don't tip because we believe good customer service IS YOUR JOB. We don't give you a bonus for doing what you're already being paid to do. If you aren't doing your job your manager should know so you can be retrained or removed.

ok, i 'm not sure we associate christmas with the beach per sea...but yeah, our Christmas is in summer so it is definitely associated with warm here...all the cold stuff makes us chuckle

Most us Aussies shop online

Christmas = BBQ in the backyard

I was disappointed when I went to watch number 4 but never saw it. I like these types of videos. I'm an Aussie who has never left the country so I enjoy hearing about differences between mine and other cultures. Thanks for the videos.

As an Aussie I'm wondering: what else does one call a bandaid? I'm intrigued!

you soooo need to travel more, just not the big cities but more rural/country areas...hope ya have been able to do this since ya made this vid

Xerox and Tupperware are perfectly fine terms too use I call our vacuum a Hoover that’s a brand. Those terms have been used at least here in Melbourne for decades.

When we leave a tip at a restaurant, it is for the restaurant not a specific waiter/waitress

the customer service in america is just so you can get a tip. in australia we don’t really do tips, like you can but every time i’ve tried in australia they either say “are you sure” or deny the tip

I have watched a couple of your videos and you have hit the nail on the head, (another Aussie saying)

As to restaurant staff it s up to you to be nice to the staff and they will respond. If you re quiet they ll leave you alone. Most aussies dont want fawning service but a genuine conversation is far more enjoyable.

BTW you can tip if you are impressed with the service. that has always been the case but there is no compulsion to do it

This is a good video. You are very informative in a good sort of way. I have watched a few of them now. You sound like you might be a little restricted to Sydney. Cultures tend to change a little bit state to state also. I thank you for the effort that you went to.

Have u checked out any of the minimalism videos on RU-vid?

Learned in junior high. Some brands so ingrained in culture that all the products of that type called by a specific brand name. Examples include xerox, band aid and q tips. Also surprised sneakers are harder to get since Nike’s are made like other in nearby Asia.

the tip makes the difference ,wages here cover everything.

We do the brand for somethings such as a Paddle-Pop Stick - for the stick that's in an ice-cream. Band Aid is known to. I think in the UK they call it a 'sticky plaster' :-)

Could you please do a video on your experience holidaying in Aus? Having been here a while now i’d Hope you’ve had a chance to see a bit. It would be interesting to see if you’ve noticed regional differences, the different environments, how far it takes, some of your favourite places so far etc. Thanks!

at 5.00 the words you are looking for is they are not brainwashed.

Tipping is done in Australia depending on your social economic status as well as your understanding of good service and rewarding good service

i seen tihs year that shops are trying to start the whole black friday thing here. I hate it

When part 4 out

Born and raised in Australia and I've only ever had one rude waiter experience and that was at a fairly expensive restaurant.

Customer service... yes, when I travelled a bit back in '95... I felt really overwhelmed in the US with how the staff 'seemed' to be crazy attentive... UNTIL I asked someone 'WTH?' Once I realized their wages were heavily tipped based I completely understood and remembered to make sure I tipped my servers, hotel staff etc....

briefly , tipping is not customary because of the hangover from the early convict days where freed convicts were proud to work and earn their own wealth.There was also an irish component who wanted to distance themselves from the english and all things english. In addition shortly after federation the high court made a decision on wages in a case where a company (american ) were paying very low wages . The high court decision was that every adult employed had to be on a living wage .hence the minimum wage was decided.And still is adjusted every 6 months. An employer can pay more but he cannot pay less. We do not have the situation here where young workers are paid a very low wage then rely on tips.As a consequence , everyone can earn a reasonable income, shopping hours are limited to certain hours, most items are more expensive, service is not regarded as a big issue,( not like in the states ,any way.) if waiters are slow complain. or dont go back.There are no masters and servants here , dont try to belittle any shop assistant or waiter ,everyone is equal,be friendly and courteous. My brother worked in a top level hotel in sydney and told me some horror stories about some of the restaurant customers who tried to throw their weight around. in short they never come out on top. thats the way it is .

I gotta ask where are you living in Australia? zambreros hasnt made it big in Sydney at all. also in Sydney there are several westfields that have big brand name stores. and Nike and adidas are easy to come by at westfields that I am aware of

As an Australian"bandaids" is the generic term I've always used.Same with Tupperware, Vaseline,a bunch of others

Generally in Australia you can tip if you want to round up a bill or if you felt you had a good meal or experience.

We had black Friday a month ago. Go to jb-hi fi got "everything" there

our food is no gmo no added hormones in our meat and so on ...heaps healthier than the states :-)

most of us Aussies are too hungover to be bothered even thinking of going to the shops on Boxing Day (plus the cricket is on so we're gonna sit, watch and drink some more).. 😋haha

I will be traveling to Sydney at the end of October.

Hi! Only just came across your videos recently, so I’m well behind haha. But as an Aussie who has travelled to the USA, I have really enjoyed listening to your perspective of our country. I agree with your thoughts on customer service in particular. In my travels to USA I found the customer service in hospitality/hotels/etc fantastic, as they are working for tips. Whereas in Australia, they’re paid a quite decent wage, so a lot of them tend to just “do their job”, rather than go above and beyond for the customer. I must admit, I prefer the service you get in USA a result of tipping, but I suppose each system has its advantages and disadvantages. I also really enjoyed the “feeling” of rewarding USA employees with a generous tip where they provided great service. It feels good to make someone’s day and reward them for their effort to look after you. I will definitely keep an eye out for more of your insights into difference between Australia and USA.

Also in America, our customer service is important not just for tips but because we are taught "the customer is always right" and we want them to keep coming back.

8:17 Most Aussies call it Tupperware as well. Tupperware was introduced around the 1960's in Australia.

I love our casual approach to customer service, most Australians like to shop in peace and find sales people to be annoying if they are too loud or pushy. Also our “Black Friday” is Boxing Day! The day after Christmas and most stores have huge sales. I’d love to experience a white Christmas, most Christmas movies are made in America so growing up watching them always made me want to experience an American white Christmas :) it’s funny tho, while it’s super hot at Christmas time in aus we still tend to make hot meals such as roast turkey, chicken, lamb etc. Halloween has only been trending over the last couple of years here also so it’s something not everyone celebrates, I love Halloween 🎃 it’s just a chance to have some fun :)

I was just in Bali for 3 weeks, I felt like it was summer, which it is, so all the Christmas stuff in the airports and then back in Sydney seemed odd, but I lived 21 years in CA so Christmas lights on palm trees were a Thing :)

Also we call them bandaids here too

I love her pronunciation, it's so funny! 😂🤣😄

I just read through some comments, I feel like all your viewers are Australian (including me) and they need to calm their farms about the whole customer service thing. That was your experience and you know what you know, you know? Also I love these videos haha

Band-aid we call band-aid... We do the orange thing with different things is all. Christmas here is messed up in a way because we still put up the snow themed decorations. Never been to the beach at Christmas but that's probably just me.

Most expensive brands are cheaper online or in outlet stores, so there is less demand for them from expensive stores in Australia. A lot of us travel to Asia a lot - Perth is closer to Bali than to Sydney - so we can just buy things tax free or where they are cheaper.

And we do tip. At good restaurants and cafes. No one tips at Zambreros just like no one tips at Maccas

"Getting up at 3 in the morning lining up at Target..Do you get what I'm saying?" No lol

As a new zealander and austrlian iv used most of those terms you have used ' gas station,tupperware,plaster etc so if you said it to me i would of understand what you were refering to as for your co worker not knowing what a xerox is i guess copy machines are a thing of the past

As a Australian and traveling in the US I loved the customer service in the states,I enjoyed tipping the great service there,in Australia no so much.

Yes we are nice to workers, we don’t need tips because we get paid rly well, instead we put it into the charity jars. We have heaps of options with shopping if you go to a good mall. We do have Black Friday. We have Nike and adidas everywhere, literally in basically every mall. We call bandaids, bandaids. Hot Christmas is amazing, swimming at the beach or pool.

What you think of as good customer service, I might well think of as being harassed when I'd like to be left alone to enjoy a meal. It's all a matter of what you're used to.

just watched your first 2 vids, your accent has changed a lot between 2 and 3.

If you want good customer service (in Victoria) go to the Universal store (clothing shop) in Westfield fountain gate, the staff stalk you the whole time your there.

Thought I should make a point of something you said. "Minimum wage" is a tad different, in the sense that most jobs are either paid by your age or by your experience. For example, a 15 year old may get paid $8 and hour, however a 21 year old may get paid $22 an hour in the same company. You also get paid differently by your job title, qualification, etc. Some jobs do have as you say a minimum wage, but it is a bit different :)

Esky was a brand of cooler. So we do it too with certain things

Agreed. I'm back in the states for a few weeks and it's crazy the difference of hospitality. YES. The shopping. I have such a hard time.... I used to shop a ton living in the USA.... while... in Australia I very rarely shop. It frustrates me how cheap Nike and adidas is vs Australia. Xeroxed. Lol Tupperware hahaha. I still struggle with Christmas but making new traditions is part of the fun moving abroad I guess! Fun video!

Do you like Australian sports? AFL OR CRICKET Are you used to driving on the left and used to using the metric system and not imperial.

In the US, the Australian Minister of Tourism was on TV and said that Aussies don't socialize at the beach, so don't start up conversations with people on the beach. They were recommending that Americans visit Australia for three week vacations (because it is so far away), which is unusually long for American vacations, but I'm sure it's good for Aussie business.

Clearance sales are popular here tho, Black Friday happened last year and it was the best, not entirely sure if it happened previous years but I’m guessing it isss. Boxing Day is a success yearly; full of half priced/cheap things! Adidas and all those nice brands can be found, probably not as full like America tho but we have cool stuffs too 😍

When you compare stuff to the USA maybe you should say where you are from. Because the south in the USA is very very different from the north.

I have only heard people say bandaid but agree with Xerox and Tupperware as well as Hoover.

Christmas in Australia is awesome. Winter here is spring anywhere else.