Fatal stabbing near pier
Harbour Air going electric
Wood pellet exports double
CRA will get the money: PM
PM tight-lipped on TikTok
Minister defends right to bail
Ukraine uses new missiles
Biden signs war aid measure
New US rules for airlines 
BoC officials split on rate cut
Big loss for Boeing 
Metro sales edged higher
Vees dominating Vipers
Warriors snakebitten in loss
Iginla off to Europe
Perry teams with Lu Kala
Megan denies harassment
Swift ‘one of the family’
To tip or not to tip?
The answer is easy these days — tip whether you like it or not.
Good service, lousy service, doesn’t matter. It’s expected.
Rarely does any of us summon the courage to skip the tip when we encounter less than stellar service at a restaurant. The going rate is 15 or 20 per cent; 10 per cent is considered a bit chintzy.
But at least, theoretically, we have the choice. Earls Restaurant — at least in Calgary — would like to take that choice away from us. The eatery is charging a mandatory 16-per-cent “hospitality charge.”
Why 16 per cent? Who knows, but reaction is decidedly mixed. An Angus Reid poll released Wednesday found that 46 per cent of Canadians would rather leave things the way they are. Forty per cent would prefer “services included” and higher base wages for restaurant employees. Thirteen per cent don’t care one way or another.
Only one in 10 said they deviate from their standard tip based on the quality of service. People feel pressured into tipping, so a mandatory amount included in the bill would have the small benefit of removing the issue of how much.
And, by the way, 42 per cent thought a 10-14 per cent tip was standard, while 47 per cent chose 15-19 per cent. Diners in Quebec and Ontario are more generous than those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. B.C. tipsters, according to the detailed poll results, are about average.
But here’s an important nuance: 61 per cent agree that “Tipping is no longer about showing appreciation for a job well done.” That is, it’s an expected part of the compensation that restaurant servers get. Some jurisdictions set lower minimum wages because of it.
So, in theory, eliminating discretionary tipping in favour of a mandatory hospitality charge would be better for everybody.
Except for one thing: over time, discretionary tipping on top of whatever is included in the bill would be sure to creep back in and we’d be back to where we started.
There’s no easy way to solve the tipping dilemma — we’re going to be stuck with it for a long time yet.
