'It's not right:' Expert rips into 'uncomfortable' restaurant practice

Everyone's been there: You've just enjoyed a meal when the waiter brings you the portable terminal to pay.

When you go to tap your card, you're prompted to tip or press the "no tip" button.

You awkwardly glance at the server before looking back down at the screen and tapping "no tip."

Afterwards, you feel a sense of embarrassment as the staffer politely smiles before handing you the receipt and walking away.

I've always wondered: Are we the rude ones in that moment? Or is it unfair of the restaurant to put its customers in that position?

We decided to settle the debate once and for all.

The principal and founder of the Australian School of Etiquette, Zarife Hardy, says one party is clearly in the wrong in this situation.

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"It's actually rude that [restaurants] are doing that to us," she told nine.com.au.

"We should never be put in a situation that makes us feel uncomfortable doing something that may be out of our financial budget."

Hardy said restaurants and cafes have "stepped into a grey zone" of making their customers uncomfortable.

"My recommendation is if you want to add the extra five or 10 per cent, go for it," she said.

"If you can't or you don't want to, then just tap the button you feel is appropriate ... we do not need to feel obliged to tip if we don't want to." 

She added that the polite way for customers to go about refusing a tip is not to mention it.

"There's no need to talk. Just tap the button, tap your card and you're done with it," she said.

"Be polite to them and say, 'Thank you for a lovely night'."

She added that she "didn't think it was right" for restaurants to put customers in that position."

"We know that staff are paid well in Australia," she said.

However, she says if you are travelling to a country where tipping is customary, it's not polite to refuse to do so.

Simply, she says, if you can't afford to tip, you shouldn't be visiting countries where it's customary.

"If you are going to a country where it is a tipping culture, like America, it's actually very rude not to tip," Hardy said.

"In fact, don't go if you can't."

She added that when travelling overseas, you should always familiarise yourself with that country's customs.

"Even things down to the way they greet, the way they shake hands, the way we pay a bill, the way we introduce people," she said.

"All of those elements are extremely important in different cultures and countries, and we must look those up before we travel there and respect them."

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