When Sean MacRae hands the bill to his customers at The Keg Steakhouse + Bar, he doesn’t always believe the tip he gets reflects the service he provided.
“For the most part as a server … as long as you don’t mess up, you should be getting around 15 to 20 per cent,” said MacRae. “If you go the extra mile, you can try and influence the tip percentage.”
That’s the way most Ottawans think tipping is supposed to work. But in recent years, the pressure to tip has risen and not just in restaurants. Fast-food counters, bakeries, car repair shops and even self-serve kiosks are seeking tips. CBC Marketplace even discovered a jewelry shop asking for tips.
This is sparking a backlash. Bruce McAdams, an associate professor for the University of Guelph’s School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, says customers are becoming more cynical about the idea of tipping where tips are not normally requested.
“Now it is 100 per cent anger, with people saying, I don’t know why I have to tip at the car wash, or the dry cleaner,” said McAdams. “My construct of what a social norm is tells me I shouldn’t have to tip at this place, so it leads to confusion.”
McAdams says that the pandemic changed the way people tipped. Before the pandemic, the average tip rate in Ontario was around 15 to 16 per cent, but after the first lockdown, the average rose to 21 per cent.
MacRae says tips make up more than two-thirds of his income. He says his workdays can be inconsistent, and that he’ll get sent home early if there isn’t enough foot traffic — leaving him with minimal pay during slow shifts.
Regardless, he says customers shouldn’t feel obligated to reward servers; tips should reflect service quality.
“Tips are supposed to be optional, that’s what I believe, it’s supposed to reward good service,” said MacRae, “… whereas if you’re forced to tip 18 per cent for a party’s bill and you’re waiting an exceptionally long time for a drink, that’s unacceptable.”
MacRae says his own job influenced him to tip higher at restaurants where normal pay is low, such as Starbucks, McDonald’s and so on.
Jason Evans, a customer at Starbucks, says that he will only tip if the service warrants it.
He says that tip options displayed on payment machines strongly influence customers into tipping.
“When [workers] flip the machine around and it’s in big bold, and [the tip options] are the first thing you have to touch while they’re looking at you, I think there’s definitely pressure to tip,” said Evans.
Customers should be tipping on pre-taxed totals as opposed to after-tax totals, he said.
“Years ago, the base amount used to be 10 per cent, and now on machines when handed to you it’s 18 per cent. And you have to go through extra buttons to tell server that you aren’t picking 18 per cent,” said Evans.
Aiana Restaurant Collective is one restaurant working to change the norm on tipping. As a fine-dining restaurant in Ottawa, it steers away from the conventional “minimum wage plus tips” model.
“The price of the menu is not based on minimum wage plus tips. It’s based on staffing requirements and the ability to maintain that staff house,” says Aiana general manager and sommelier Robert Lemieux. “Instead of expecting to be able to pay an employee $15 an hour, […] we offer them a salary or an hourly wage up front that is hopefully competitive with what other restaurants offer.”
He also says that Aiana’s tipping model puts the server’s welfare at the forefront.
McAdams says consumers should be wary about where their tips go: to the worker or the establishment. “I’m asking where the tips are going. I’m asking the person at the counter, ‘Do you get this tip? Do you know where these tips go?’ ” McAdams said. “And that’s impacting me on whether I leave a tip or not.”
