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Restaurant Tipping Etiquette

The idea of abolishing the 'voluntary tip' format continues to draw attention. A good write-up in the Globe and Mail:

The zero per cent solution: Is it time to stop tipping in restaurants?
COREY MINTZ

Special to The Globe and Mail

Published Tuesday, Apr. 26, 2016 12:15PM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...-stop-tipping-in-restaurants/article29758774/

Some notable points, quoted from the article:
  • "...tipping puts the control of that revenue into the hands of customers instead of the restaurateurs who design and manage how their businesses work."
  • "Many otherwise smart and well-informed people have told me they believe that restaurant tips are divided evenly, that the servers who collect the cash divide it with cooks, bussers and dishwashers."
  • However that is not the case, therefore "This means that tipping creates a huge income inequality between front and back of house."
  • "One unintended consequence of the 10-cent raise in Ontario’s minimum wage for servers last October (from $9.80 an hour to $9.90 an hour) was that many restaurateurs were forced to increase labour costs to meet a new minimum for servers, instead of the money going to the still-underpaid cooks."
  • "The current system, McAdams argues, provides too much incentive for servers to be mercenary, to work for themselves rather than the restaurant, adding to the transient nature of those jobs."
 
Americans seem to have the stereotype that Canadians are cheap or poor tippers, but on a worldwide scale, many countries in the world don't have an expected/mandatory tip at all (of course many like Europeans, Australians, etc. do pay their servers better than us North Americans so a tip isn't as crucial for their income).
 
Tipping is so ingrained in Toronto and North American culture that it'll take a lot more than such an incentive to stop it. I actually find myself tipping in Europe 10 - 15 % while on business just out of habit and guilt even though that's pretty high.
 
What is everyone's thoughts on tipping a barista? If I'm correct, they are paid based on the the standard minimum wage and not the food serve minimum?
 
Tipping is so ingrained in Toronto and North American culture that it'll take a lot more than such an incentive to stop it. I actually find myself tipping in Europe 10 - 15 % while on business just out of habit and guilt even though that's pretty high.

I am from a non-tipping culture and every time I travel in Europe, I felt "free" - the price you see is the price you pay, not 30% more.
In Europe only in Albania is tipping obligatory like in North America. People simply don't tip unless it is only rounding up. For example, if the bill is $19 you leave $20, but if it is $20, it will be very strange to pay $21 or $22, because that's not what people do.
 
New Angus Reid poll results show that 46% of Canadians prefer to keep the tipping system as is with the customer deciding how much to tip, while 40% would prefer a fixed pricing system and 13% with no preference.

Toronto Star article: https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/07/13/no-big-rush-to-ditch-tipping-poll.html

actually 40% want some change is a big deal.
A lot of those 46% probably have never been to any non-tipping countries and therefore have no idea what a different system is like. Choosing "no change" over something one is used to of course is easy.
 
actually 40% want some change is a big deal.
A lot of those 46% probably have never been to any non-tipping countries and therefore have no idea what a different system is like. Choosing "no change" over something one is used to of course is easy.

Or those 46% have been to non-tipping countries and saw how horrendous the service is.
 
Or those 46% have been to non-tipping countries and saw how horrendous the service is.

I see absolutely no difference in restaurant service in Japan, France, Spain or Argentina, because those severs are well paid, not 3$ an hour. Do you, really?

People are delusional if they think the tipping practice motivates severs to provide better service.
 
Susur Lee was forcing his staff at 3 of his restaurants to pay for serving mistakes with their own tip money! Which is illegal but not uncommon in the restaurant industry. Stealing from hard working servers, while his two douchebag sons are living the life of luxury thanks to Daddy's millions. They flaunt their wealth on YouTube vlogs and Instagram.

Susur Lee restaurants to reimburse staff over IOUs
http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2017/08/susur-lee-restaurants-ious-toronto/

IOU system at Susur Lee restaurants required staff to use tips to pay for mistakes http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/susur-lee-restaurant-staff-iou-1.4252959
 
What is everyone's thoughts on tipping a barista? If I'm correct, they are paid based on the the standard minimum wage and not the food serve minimum?
My girlfriend works as a barista at the Timothy's coffee shop. She gets paid minimum and people barely tip her. She is basically earning minimum wage.
 

Canadians tipping more generously during COVID-19, new data finds


April 15, 2022


Canadians have been tipping local businesses more generously during COVID-19 compared to pre-pandemic times, suggests new data released by technology company Square.

On average, Canadians are tipping 17.9 per cent on face-to-face purchases, up from a 16.6 per cent average pre-pandemic, according to Square.

In an email sent to Global News, Square’s spokesperson, Giovana Pinheiro Chichito said that “across the board and right into the first quarter of 2022, Square found that Canadians have been tipping more generously.”

 

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