Though people in Ontario will always have differing opinions on how much you should tip, the landscape has changed drastically since the lower pay for hospitality workers was nixed in favour of one standard minimum wage across industries provincewide in 2022, effectively removing the reason for tipping in the first place.
As the rising cost of living continues to squeeze wallets across the country, the topic of tipping has become more controversial, with many criticizing skyrocketing tipping prompts across not just bars and restaurants, but cafes, fast food chains, some stores and even online retailers.
(This writer has even been prompted to tip for a car battery replacement from CAA, with a 20 per cent tipping suggestion on an over $400 service that took the contractor about 15 minutes to complete.)
There is a fair proportion of people who seem to want the practice — which is unique to the U.S. and Canada, and rare pretty much everywhere else in the world — to end for good, arguing that it should not be on consumers to ensure hospitality staff get paid a fair wage.
Many have also complained that the industry has become entitled, with large tips now an expectation right off the bat rather than something given to reward exceptional service.
The topic has been a very popular one on Reddit, where it perennially spawns new discussions, including one the other week that has racked up more than 400 comments, all of them quite passionate.
On the post, people shared anecdotes of being shocked when prompted to tip at florists, while getting a slice of takeout pizza, at their local Subway or Dairy Queen, online and more, all on top of sales tax, to boot.
“You’re being paid to do a job. You didn’t do anything special, and you’ve already been paid. Why do I need to ‘top you up’ for no reason?” one person asked.
A few chimed in to note that since servers in Ontario now “make the same minimum wage as the cashier at Walmart” and “there isn’t a servers’ minimum wage anymore,” there is no justification for tipping, especially at the exorbitant rates being asked.
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Many also shared frustration at such a request when they themselves are struggling to get by, particularly if they work a job that doesn’t receive tips and potentially earns them less than their server.
“I could justify paying tips when servers made less than minimum wage, and can justify one if a server improves my experience beyond expectations. I can even justify it if I travel into a city where people pay twice what I do just to exist,” one person said.
“But what I can’t justify is tipping 15-20 per cent (they want 20 — 15 is now ‘cheap’) at my local restaurants, to a person who earns just 80 cents an hour less than me but gets tips.“
They continued to make the very fair point that they “don’t want to subsidize the income of someone who actually brings home more money than I do just because they did their job, and not even necessarily well.”
Among the dozens in the thread calling for tipping to be outright banned, a few pointed to countries like Australia, where displayed prices include taxes and also factors in what an establishment needs to pay their workers what they believe to be a fair wage. “They don’t tip there… it’s so much better,” they wrote.
Others who were more moderate in their stance suggested that tipping should be reserved for sit-down establishments only, where workers are providing a service beyond “heating up a pizza,” turning around to a fridge to open a can of beer, or making a coffee to go, as is their job.
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The fact that not all tips are claimed come tax season was also identified in the comments as a pain point; as one person wrote, “not only are we expected to tip on top of their salary, but we all pay taxes on our T4 income while they slip through with cash in pocket.”
As the debate continues and the pushback to our arguably ridiculous tipping culture grows, it remains to be seen how many people are actually starting to act on their negative feelings about tipping when they reach the cash register.
