Thanks for the tip (Photo by Wade from Oklahoma)
What to tip at recession time? This is the latest question in the never-ending gratuity debate; and since the market went south, it appears to be striking a nerve in Toronto and elsewhere. The New York Times‘ etiquette authority, Frank Bruni, wrote about it on his blog recently, sparking chatter about servers getting stiffed during hard times. Apparently diners are not just ordering less food, but they are then dialling down the percentage of their cheques left for gratuity. The recession effect—Bruni calls it a “double whammy”—is being felt closer to home, too. Toronto servers have been reporting paltry pourboire during the downturn. “Before the crisis, money was getting thrown around, but now people are more careful,” says France Salmon, who has been serving for over 10 years at celeb sanctuary Bistro 990. It seems even stars can be guilty of skimpy tipping (we’re looking at you, Madonna). With everyone else getting their bonuses trimmed and salaries frozen, is it all right to be less generous with the gratuity?
Unlike in Manhattan—where the standard is generally understood to be 20 per cent—Toronto’s case is somewhat complicated, since the so-called tipping point was already in flux before the bubble burst. Over the past decade, the accepted amount of 15 per cent had been edging up. Now servers increasingly expect 20 per cent, explains Oddfellows manager Jenny-Orenda Smith. While 15 per cent is still in the mix, it represents the low end of a new range in which 20 is the new 15. Kerry Grove of Pangaea has been serving almost 30 years, and he’s witnessed the shift: “It’s a trickle-down from New York’s influence that’s reached major cities. I know that it hasn’t reached Winnipeg yet, though.”
For Smith, the impetus comes from below. She calls it the “trickle-up” effect, whereby an increasing number of people eating out have ties to the industry and feel compelled to tip liberally. The upward trend is confirmed on menus: many of the city’s restaurants now advertise an inflated gratuity for groups. King West’s Brassaii asks 17 per cent, while organic eatery Globe Bistro and upmarket Bymark are among many to calculate at 18 per cent.
The verdict appears to be that the higher percentages are here to stay and should remain unaffected by the TSX. True to Smith’s trickle-up theory, the servers we spoke to all agreed: whatever the times, it’s never cool to skimp on the tip. One tray toter at Rodney’s Oyster House summarized the issue simply: “If you can’t afford to tip properly, don’t eat out.”
That photo is awesome.
March 11, 2009 at 2:03 pm | by AlexanderSure all your respondents agreed 20% should be the new normal and tips shouldn’t reflect the slide in the economy. How about interviewing a few of us on the other side of the fence. We are hurting economically just as much, and we are considering eating at home a lot more. That thought will be re-enforced by servers muscling us down when it comes to tipping. Come on folks ITS A PERCENTAGE!, not a flat fee.
One of the problems with servers and their problems with tips is that it is paid in cash, and a lot of it goes right out the door directly after a shift, when they need to “wind down”. I see this constantly as a tax preparer, when I ask a server how much he or she is going to report in tips, it’s in the ten percent neighborhood, followed by “I don’t have any money left from tips”. Servers who want 20-25% tips ought to be paying that amount when they file their taxes!
March 17, 2009 at 2:18 pm | by DannyI found this a fascinating read. Are you actually trying to encourage people to come out and spend money in these tough economic times. If you went to NY and saw the sea of empty tables and then closure signs weeks later, maybe getting 15% or even a tip at all AND keeping yourselves in busy WITH a job, would seem like a pretty good thing.
You folks did know that many people 1-lost their jobs this year, 2-did not get bonuses (tips!) or 3-did not get pay increases of any kind, right?
I have been reading other stories where upscale restaurants are being creative and offering all kinds of options to lure people in the door.
Something to think about.
March 18, 2009 at 12:08 pm | by LPorterRegarding Tips…I have been tipping 20% for several years now in Toronto but there seems to be a dispute among servers as to what the 20% is applied. I do NOT tip on TAX.
March 19, 2009 at 3:23 am | by Tim DevlinI tip on the actual bill but some restaurants have bills that do not make it clear what is the bill and what is the Tax. Why would anyone tip on the tax? One of the best ways to tip 20% is to tip 15% on the total bill including tax. It works out about right but restaurants need to put the Tip line after the base price and stop trying to get people to tip on the bottom line. Tipping on the tax can put your tip up over 25%!
What ever happened to tipping based on service. Has this era of entitlement engulfed the service industry. Are we supposed to leave 20% for crappy service simply for the privilage of eating out? Give me a break.
March 19, 2009 at 9:18 am | by Randall OneI think I will take one of the servers suggestions and stay home.
The tipping tyranny in this city (and country) has really gone too far. The expected standard for tips keeps getting higher, while the levels of service continue to plummet. Tips are no longer regarded as a discretionary extra for exceptional service, on the contrary, servers expect (and in some cases, outright demand) a 15% minimum tip to augment their paltry wages. Customers have fallen for this manipulation as well, cowed into believing that they are obligated to pay a gratuity, regardless of how dismal the service is.
And why is it that every time an article on tipping is written, some arrogant prig of a server is quoted as saying “If you can’t afford to tip properly, don’t eat out.” How I wish everyone took that advice to heart and just stayed home! No customers, no tips, no job…how would they like them apples?
March 19, 2009 at 9:26 am | by LauraI must agree with the comments – if servers truly want a flat rate of 20%, then by all means, but let’s report this as proper income for taxation.
If taxation is not of interest, then assuming that 20% is deserved is nonsense. Bad service is bad service – often ruining the entire dining experience – wishing that you DID stay home.
A little humility and appreciation for a few of these servers would go a long way.
March 19, 2009 at 9:42 am | by AgathaI agree that before deciding to eat out, the cost of tipping should be factored into your budget. However, on the other hand, tipping is called a “gratuity” for a reason: it is earned and is intended to motivate the server to provide a certain level of service. It’s no different than salespeople whose income is dependent on sales commissions. The more sales they make, the higher their income. It is not a right and it is not the diner’s obligation to “supplement” the server’s minimum wage income. If the server doesn’t like their base wages, then they should either find another job, or give the level of service that deserves good tips.
But the fact remains that in hard times, when disposable income is lower, everyone feels the pinch and tips may be affected too.
I will leave a 20% tip when the service is excellent, which for the most part, at Toronto’s high-end restaurants, it often is. That’s 20% BEFORE tax, not on the full bill. Wine will affect the tip %, however, as it’s my understanding that you do not apply the percentage to a bottle (i.e. the service involved in bringing and serving a $500 bottle of wine and a $100 bottle of wine is about the same, so the server should not get $80 more just because you have expensive tastes. Of course, if there was a great deal of assistance given by the server and/or sommelier, then you should tip accordingly).
If the service is not excellent, then I will not hesitate to reduce the tip from 20%. I’m also tired of the expectation that is rampant in the service industry. Cabbies are extremely guilty of it and seem to expect 20% no matter how horrible the ride. I will confess to being a typically non-confrontational Canadian and tipping even when I’ve been fuming most of the ride (for example, if they argue with me about which route is best to take to my own home, or spent time deciding before I got in the cab whether I was worthy of their time), but I keep it to 10%. For 20%, they better have been welcoming, pleasant, familiar with the routes, appropriately chatty or not chatty based on my reactions, and followed the rules of the road in a non-jarring manner.
And that’s my rant for the day!
March 19, 2009 at 11:12 am | by SjanePay no attention to this gratuity brouhaha.
People lashing out and decrying the death of decent patronage are excellent pictures of desperation.
Don’t let them keep you in house. If you dine out, the tip shouldn’t influence you, financially, beforehand. If you let these few ornery servers anger you into staying in, the retaliation just hurts both sides’ quality-of-life.
Go forth! Dine. Tip comfortably.
The market will speak.
And they’ll soon learn what the “new 15 percent” really is.
March 19, 2009 at 2:53 pm | by Thickskin“If you can’t afford to tip properly, don’t eat out.”
March 22, 2009 at 12:52 pm | by DavidHow about if you can’t afford to pay your waitstaff a fair wage then you don’t open a restaurant. It’s absurd that we just accept the fact that these businesses depend on the customer to supplement their employees’ income. A restaurant that paid their staff well and gave them benefits and insisted on no tipping would have my business.
I’ve been following the debate on tipping and have wondered over the years why the expected percentage would increase. The price of restaurant meals has gone up over the years (as expected, like anything else). So why would the percentage not stay the same (given that as the meals increase in price, so does the tip)?
I fully agree there might be some exceptions, such as a Winterlicious meal or a 2 for 1 special, where the price for the meal might not reflect the amount of work by the server.
March 23, 2009 at 1:38 pm | by LylaI like David’s comment regarding “…if you can’t afford to pay your waitstaff a fair wage then you don’t open a restaurant.”
What exactly is a fair wage for wait staff? I’m sure there could be a heated debate on that topic. However I do recall a couple of facts from my good ol’ days in ‘the industry’ that maybe effect my tipping on a subconscious level.
-Servers/wait staff minimum wage is lower then regular minimum wage
-Most restaurants take a percentage of the wait staff’s tips for the ‘house’ based on a percentage of the severs sales not the gratuities. So if they sell a $500 btl of wine as apposed to a $100 btl of wine they better hope the customer tips on the full price of the alcohol, because they are ‘tipping out’ regardless.
Having said that if service is poor as a direct result of the server, I’ll give up less of a tip. If it’s due to other factors i.e. food prep, long wait to get in, sold out of items, etc… I will most likely just choose to not frequent that establishment.
As far as creeping up percentages go, I have always thought 15% on the total was fine, but maybe I’m behind on the times. After all, those pints or whatever they might be spending their unclaimed income on to ‘wind down’ as Danny put it are not getting any cheaper (I had one come to $11.50 in Toronto the other day: slightly ridiculous for a basic draft import). Well at least I can rest easy knowing my tip will most likely go right back into the economy when the bartenders shift ends.
March 24, 2009 at 1:35 pm | by MalcolmIn a nice resto, I tip 20% on the full bill – the bottom line, tax, wine, everything – perhaps because I used to live in the US. Am I going overboard? (I do believe that no matter how bad off I think I am, I’m better off than the people that are serving me, otherwise I wouldn’t be eating out.)
March 31, 2009 at 12:29 pm | by Foodie[...] If you’ve cut back on generous tipping you’re not alone. While most of you say your restaurant gratuity is about the same, some say 2009 is the year of lousy tips. [...]
April 5, 2009 at 12:33 pm | by Tipping Guide: How Much Should you Give? « Kivivi BlogSorry, I have a problem propping up a restaurants prices by being expected to tip %20 for everyday service.
I understand the servers issues, but all it does is allow the food industry to continue to abuse it’s patrons and it’s workers.
When I buy a $12 martini, and pay $20 for pasta, I know they are making serious profit margin on that one meal, and get a bit angry that I have to pay another 20% for someone to walk to the kitchen and get it, having not offered suggestions, is brusk, or just everyday.
10% minimum if they just do basics
15% if they are more attentive and personable
20% if they are above and beyond the call of duty (deal with problems quickly and suggest dishes or suggest you avoid others.
Sorry, real wages for all of us have not gone up much since 1980′s. In fact a recent survey said after all is said and done, the majority has made $50 bucks more a year than in 1980′s. (inflation etc., all factored it) SO now suddenly I’m supposed to give more and help prop up a restaurant?
No dice.
And if they get stupid about it, I’ll do the smarter thing. Stay in, have a spectacular wine with my meal.
May 27, 2009 at 11:57 am | by Robert