‘At their tipping point’: As expectations to tip grow, so does its impact for workers

As the cost of living continues to rise, the concept of tipping — and the question of how much to tip — is garnering more attention.

Some are wondering whether tipping in the service industry is considered an expectation or if it’s just good etiquette.

“Everybody is at their tipping point on tipping,” said Julie Blais Comeau, an etiquette expert.

“Having said that, it doesn’t give us permission to stop tipping, it is an expected practice.”

A recent survey of 1,500 Canadians by Lightspeed Commerce Inc. found 67 per cent felt pressure to tip, with 54 per cent saying inflation impacted their ability to do so.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report Wednesday, saying the 2024 “living wage” rate in Halifax is $28.30 — the highest among the three provinces.

The report by the left-leaning research institute defines the “living wage” as the hourly take-home pay — including federal and provincial transfers — that a person needs to pay for things such as rent, clothing, shelter, transportation, health care and basic household expenses.

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

Sign up for weekly money newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“A higher living wage is not good news unless actual wages keep pace,” the report states. “For most low-income workers there is a growing gap between their wage and the living wage.”

The rise in minimum wages over the years has not kept up with cost-of-living increases, leaving many people with less money than they need to live with dignity, it adds.

For servers who work in the restaurant industry, some say it’s especially difficult to make “enough.”

“We’re looking at a need to earn between $55,000 and $60,000 a year in order to live in Halifax and minimum wage doesn’t cut it. It’s nowhere near enough,” said Christopher Hartt, a business professor at Dalhousie University.

“And if you think of servers in restaurants that work (about) 30 hours a week, they are a long way away from earning that income.”

Ezra Garrison, a barista at The Daily Grind Cafe & Bar in Halifax stresses that tips are an important part of the staff’s take-home income.

“It would be a better expectation for sure to have a wage that was livable, of course, but the tipping culture really helps to support living wages right now,” said Garrison.

For customers, it can be difficult to decide what to tip. Point of sale machines, some point out, have increased their suggested tip percentages in recent years. What used to be a minimum 10-per cent option has moved to 15, 18, and beyond.

“The reasonable about to tip in restaurants is still that 15 per cent,” said etiquette expert, Blais Comeau.

“And at the salons we usually tip 10 per cent.”

For some, deciding how much to tip means thinking about the implications of that decision.

“Tipping is a vital part of their income,” said patron Sheri Lamothe, in Halifax.

“I don’t look at the total, I look at the service and recognize that they are serving because they are in a position where they need the income just like the rest of us”

— with a file from The Canadian Press