Has the troubling economy affected how you tip?

By Derek Craddock

It’s no surprise the financial hardships of the day have affected many people in Saskatchewan, but how much effect has it had on generosity and, in particular, tipping?

Whether you are at a restaurant, ordering takeout or getting your hair done, tipping always seems to be in front of you. How much do you tip, and has that changed with the price of everything going up?

While Jim Bence with Hospitality Saskatchewan hasn’t heard of a drop in tipping at places like restaurants, he acknowledges spending habits have changed.

“Discretionary spending, it’s getting tight,” he said. “That is, I think, part of the conversation around how much we can spend.”

He added when customers go out to a restaurant, there’s one criteria that hasn’t changed when it comes to the rules of tipping.

“Customers will always pay or tip what they usually tip on, which is the service,” Bence said. “I don’t think that higher interest rates or the increase in menu prices are going to affect the tip that much.”

Marc Mentzer, a professor at the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan, said that according to data from Restaurants Canada, more people have been going out and therefore tipping since before the pandemic.

“It certainly looks like there’s evidence that people are substantially more generous than they were before the pandemic, at least when it comes to restaurant dining,” he said, noting the number of people going out has risen from 15 to 17.6 per cent.

Another look at tipping comes from Julie Blais Comeau, the chief etiquette officer of EtiquetteJulie.com. She has spoken across the country on rules of etiquette including tipping.

She notes tipping is a cultural practice that you can’t get away from in Canada.

“If we were talking this morning and we were talking to Australia, they would be quite surprised,” she said.

So now, another important question comes up: How much do or should you tip?

As Bence mentioned earlier, tipping is dependent on the level of service you receive. But there has been one major change that has altered the act of tipping: Electronic card readers or terminals.

“The economic times have affected the tipping custom, the etiquette of tipping, but I would say the biggest contributor in the last 10-plus years that I have been an etiquette expert is the arrival of the terminals where the people pay,” said Comeau.

“I feel these terminals are almost intimidating us or shaming us. They’re presenting us, now it starts at 18 per cent, 20 per cent.”

Mentzer agreed with that, adding some terminals don’t have an option for you to choose your tip.

“In my experience, very few restaurants offer a 15 per cent option. If a person is determined to tip 15 per cent, you kind of have to look for the custom tip option,” he said. “The rules seem to be in flux and it ends up making the dining experience a little more stressful than it used to be.”

Mentzer said Saskatchewan has the lowest average tip in all of Canada at 14.9 per cent, according to Restaurants Canada. The average for Ontario, for example, is almost 19 per cent.

Bence said he remembers when he entered the bar service many years ago what a good tip used to be.

“I remember when we bounced from three to five per cent, we thought we’d died and gone to heaven,” he said. “If you were worth it, you were going to get paid anyways and I think people do now as well.”

So what’s the best advice for tipping? According to Comeau, you shouldn’t feel intimated and tip what you feel is best.

“Do the math, use your phone, use your brain and calculate your tipping before taxes because those terminals are prompting us to do is based after taxes,” she said.

“Really consider the service that’s been offered and go and tip accordingly. If you’re feeling extra generous, do it.”

She added if you have a concern regarding service, don’t be afraid to bring it up with a manager. But above all, make sure your motive is not to penalize the servers.

“Let’s take a moment and recognize the service that’s being done to us and how our tipping can affect the livelihood of a person or even of an entire family,” she said.