What was once a sign of gratitude and good service has now become something service employees depend on to survive.
Some Canadians are getting tired of it.
There are many reasons why tipping culture has become so controversial, one being that the restaurant industry took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Establishments fell, workers were let go, and according to Restaurants Canada, 81 per cent of independent restaurants had taken on new debt due to the pandemic.
As a sign of appreciation during the lockdowns, Canadians tipped service industry workers more than ever.
Now that mandates and lockdowns have been lifted, tipping rates are still high, and some feel like they are paying too much, too often.
“The percentage of it has gone way up in the last few years,” said former restaurant employee Liam Kelly. “I feel guilty, to tip.”
Research from the Angus Reid Institute shows that over the last eight years, the rate of people tipping less than 15 per cent at a restaurant has gone down from 43 per cent to 23 per cent.
People are being asked to tip more and feeling pressure to do so.
“Thirty years ago, the tipping average was 10 per cent,” said Bruce McAdams, an associate professor at the University of Guelph School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management. “Now, many consumers are fatigued with the idea of tipping and think that it’s gotten out of control.”
The concern isn’t just how much money people are being asked to tip, either.
Places that did not ask for tips in the past now do. This has resulted in four-in-five Canadians saying they are being asked to tip by too many places.
This phenomenon is called “tip creep”, referring to the idea that tipping has crept its way into places it did not previously exist.
Whether it be a fast food restaurant, the dry cleaners, or even a convenience store, there is a good chance that you will be asked to tip after you pay.
“You’re getting more and more places trying to subsidize their employees’ wages with gratuities and tips,” said McAdams. “They’re wondering why they shouldn’t be asking for tips if they’re performing services like restaurants.”
This has led most Canadians also to believe that staff are being underpaid wherever they are asked to tip.
Instead of raising employee’s wages, businesses are putting the onus on the consumer to give up some extra cash.
“Nowadays, I feel like it’s 50/50 if they are getting underpaid,” said Jackson Proust, a Calgarian who says he feels obligated to tip whenever he is asked. “But I also don’t even know who the tip is going to.”
Tips used to predominantly be paid in cash. You’d hand a bill to the pizza delivery person, or put a loonie in the tip jar at a coffee shop. With the increase in card payments, the consumer has little control over where that money goes.
“I go to a sub shop on the way to my cottage,” said McAdams. “There’s a tip jar on the counter, with some toonies and $5 bills in it. But when I pay with my debit, the machine also asks me for a tip. So I asked the girl behind the counter, and she said the tip jar money goes to her, but the tip money from the machine goes to the owner.”
With the disdain for tipping growing, a majority of Canadians want to rid the practice completely, preferring a “service included” system, where employees are paid a higher wage.
Countries such as France have implemented this system into their restaurant industry. By law, restaurants add a 15 per cent service fee instead of asking for tips. You might add an extra euro to round up the bill, but you won’t be asked to tip up to 25 per cent.
This process takes the pressure off the consumer. They don’t have to decide how much extra they want to give.
Other countries don’t expect tips at all, as employees are paid higher wages.
“It’s how people make their money,” Kelly said of the current system in Canada. “But sometimes, you don’t have that extra little bit to give away.”
