 Poster: A snowHead
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Hoping you guys and gals could give me one more bit of advice before I head off to Whistler, literally a tip about tips!
What is the culture for tipping in Canada? What should we be doing when out for lunch and dinner? What about in the hotel, at bars etc? Very aware that the culture with this can be very different for example in the states (and even in different places across America!). So what is the craic in Canada?
Cheers!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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They hate tips and regard the very idea as a grave insult. Under no circumstances offer one. They prefer a good b0ll0cking.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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They know English people are bad at it. 15% on just about anything works, I believe. If you are paying for guides, then ask the Americans what they're tipping.
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@SkiG, you're expected to tip your server 15% to 20%. The server is expected to 'tip out' the rest of the staff (kitchen, bar etc) regardless of whether customers actually left a tip, so if they're unfortunate enough to get a couple of tables of non-tippers they can end up working for nothing all evening. This sounds like a rubbish system, but apparently that's how it works. So don't forget to tip!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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In a bar, a dollar a drink is a rule of thumb. In restaurants, 10-15% of bill.
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What if the service is crap? Being English, I find the north American way confusing ?
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@cstreat, presumably the theory is that the server doesn't get paid for rubbish service and therefore doesn't give it. Though this doesn't take into account stingy customers or people from places where this system isn't the norm. Brits and Australians are the worst tippers, according to the Canadian serving staff I spoke to.
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When I was there a couple of years ago the tax was 7.5% - and marked on the bill. The advice was to double the tax for tips
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It's dependant on the province but most people just double the tax sort of thing which comes out at 15%. A lot of touristy places are nice enough to calculate 10/20% it for you 
Correct me if I'm wrong but Canadian workers all get at least a minimum wage, unlike in the States where some only get an income from tips. It's part of their culture so I've always adopted a when in Rome attitude, somewhere like NYC 20% or more seems to be expected. Although coming from a culture where it isn't the norm I don't fully agree with it, and over the years is seeping more and more into the UK-plenty of places where you have to 'ask' for them to remove a service charge these days or it's just added. But hey why wouldn't servers want a little extra cash injection?
@cstreat, If the service is crap you're expected to speak to the manager, which IME goes against the British stiff upper lip attitude. I do it more since travelling but generally something has to be particularly wrong before I'll complain daft as it sounds as you're paying your money. Now if the food is crap but the service is bad you're still expected to tip, which makes perfect sense but somehow wouldn't feel right to me!
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Ditto what TommyJ said, we were advised to double the GST to work out a tip. It really is the norm
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So I think you should be tipping 15-20%.
Everywhere offers a % option on the machine, I usually go around 18%, 15% if it wasn't great, 20 if it was fabulous.
Double GST isn't really enough; GST is 5% . In BC they have HST and double HST would work; but easier just to do by %
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The waiting staff get taxed on an estimate of tips based on the billable amount, even if you don't give them a tip. If you don't tip, it costs them money. In North America it is part of the cost of eating out. Just see it like that, don't over complicate it with emotion!
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Wed 14-01-15 17:29; edited 1 time in total
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| gryphea wrote: |
So I think you should be tipping 15-20%.
Everywhere offers a % option on the machine, I usually go around 18%, 15% if it wasn't great, 20 if it was fabulous.
Double GST isn't really enough; GST is 5% . In BC they have HST and double HST would work; but easier just to do by % |
Nope not any more. In its eternal wisdom (?) BC decided it was better to go back to having two tax systems so back to 7% PST and 5% GST. on the restaurant bill you'll only get GST
Normally about 12 to 15% is about right, more if it was really good service. Most of the credit card machines have a button to select % or amount of tip to make it easy. There is minimum wage in BC, but isn't a whole lot.
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You know it makes sense.
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Like a lot of Canadians, I [partly] paid my way through uni waiting on tables. As others said, 15% is considered [by the waiter/waitress] acceptable, 20% is a good deal. 10% is a gripe, but better than nothing. As someone else pointed out above, in a lot of restaurants, the wait staff contribute to a tip pool that pays out on a formula to bus staff, front of house staff, etc. Thus, if I got stiffed by someone, it actually cost me money to serve them.
Famously, one night the Coal Harbour Keg [in Vancouver, now long gone, I think] was full of Australians attending a tourism conference. Aussies, unlike the stereotypical Brits, spent big on drinks and food... then stiffed everyone. Every waiter/waitress was going crazy and ended up out of pocket on the night. I am a bit out of date, but there used to be a lower minimum wage for wait staff than other jobs.
Finally, again allowing for my out of date knowledge, as soon as you open your mouth and they hear your accent, your waiter/waitress will be assuming a tip at the lower end of the scale.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Does anyone know the best way of practising an Anglo-Australian accent for when I nest visit Canada?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Fruity, can't help feeling that it wasn't the waitress who was the rude cow in that situation. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Canada or America, as a Brit, 10 to 15% about all I'll consider, and if service is crap, they get crap all.
If actually at a bar, rather than a table, $1 per round. I'm not so fussed about that as they are usually friendly and I don't have to stand all night, shove and push to the bar and shout/wave money in order to get noticed only to be ignored, like I do in Britain.
I don't care if tips are an essential part of the salary to live off. Not my problem. North America needs to sort their stupid culture out and get their employees to pay them a decent wage.
Humbug 
That said I do tip in Britain, but it's very much dependent on service, and only in restaurants. Would never tip a taxi driver, room cleaner, etc in Britain. Never.
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Why is this so emotional for people? Why so much resentment towards ordinary people just doing a job? If the tip system was not part of the culture, presumably the menu prices would be higher. Have some respect for people in their own home. If you don't like the culture, go somewhere else where you feel more comfortable.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 14-01-15 19:15; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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loving all these people who shell out £1000s for a north american ski holiday who are ok with underpaying minimum wage earners 
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@Arno, +1. Mind you, they're happy with the chalet staff 'wage' thing in Europe as well, so it figures.
@deadkenny, when in Rome, innit. You nasty stingy git. 
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@Arno, I think one of the problems is just being not culturally used to something. If a menu price is advertised as x and then there is added 15% for taxes and another 15% expected for tips and you are not used to the system you feel somewhat cheated.
I know my in-laws found it most uncomfortable when they went to America and gave what they thought was a generous 10% for a not inexpensive meal and then were quizzed as to why they had not enjoyed it and why they tipped poorly.
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It must be amazing to be a business owner over there.Open a business and don't pay your staff.Let the customers pay that for you.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@FullyTucked, and who do you suppose is ultimately paying the serving staff in every restaurant in the UK or indeed Europe? Have you considered why menu prices there are more expensive than they are in the US? You complete nincompoop. 
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When in Rome and all that. it doesn't matter if you don't get it, it doesn't matter if you feel cheated. Do the right thing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| @Fruity, can't help feeling that it wasn't the waitress who was the rude cow in that situation. |
Really? Well I think it's bloody rude to ask for a bigger tip. The food was crap, she handed us a menu. Whats with the attitude? Maybe the restaurant owners should pay a better wage.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| @FullyTucked, and who do you suppose is ultimately paying the serving staff in every restaurant in the UK or indeed Europe? Have you considered why menu prices there are more expensive than they are in the US? You complete nincompoop. |
Pretty much everything in America is cheaper than UK.
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@T Bar, one or two posters seem well aware but dont want to adapt their behaviour
I don't particularly like the whole tipping thing and I don't particularly love the north American service thing where the server acts like they are your newest best friend but I don't think the way to change it is by punishing a 23 year old on the minimum wage
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I'm always amazed at how extreme people feel about the issue, both pro and against.
Make no mistake, tips are OPTIONAL!!!
If you can't bring yourself to tip, you don't have to. You WILL be thought of as ignorant and stingy. Just deal with it and keep on walking out the door.
But understand giving a tip according to custom will help the server put food on their table. Might that help to make it more acceptable? I just remind my guests the price of food on the menu doesn't include tips and tax. After all, nobody complain about having to add the tax amount, so what's so hard to add the tip also?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Wow, that stirred up a bit of emotion.
This is what I asked the question for though, not wanting to be an 'ignorant Brit'
Seems like the verdict is 15-20%, which is good to know and what I will go for. 155 if its reasonable and 20% if its particularly good.
Have to say though, if the service is bad through the servers fault (ie attitude or rude, rather than something like a genuine mistake), I would leave nothing, but I can probably count on one hand the number of times that has happened in my life
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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That's how it works: you have it precisely correct.
There will always be rude people too, but perhaps if we're lucky most of them will stay home.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@SkiG, You won't get bad service ever which is one of the reasons for going. Not to mention not having to work in a foreign language. 15% is fine don't go wild.
Best paid job in the resort is waiter/ress. But you have to spend many years as bussing staff before you are allowed to get in the big bucks.
Your first issue I always struggle with is the transfer driver, most are really great people. But how much is a sensible tip for 2 of you.... I normally only give them 10$ for 2 of us but have always though I was being cheap. Don't forget if you have any US$ kicking around you can use those too.
Then the Valet who will jump on your bags even though you managed to get them to the hotel lobby yourself somehow. Much prefer to be left alone. Thats where the 1 US$ bills come in handy. Couple of them is fine mind at the Fairmont they may look at you strangely if you have anything in your pocked less than 50$ bills 
At least with nearly 1.8 to the £ its good value at the moment.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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My brother lives in Toronto and you pretty much have to tip for everything, at least 15%. You even have to tip bar staff for pouring you a pint, no matter how badly they do it (even though bar staff in Ontario need to go on a 3 day course they still seem to pour lager with about 2 inches of head). Not tipping is a huge no no, and in a bar it'll either guarantee crap service all night or you'll be ignored and everyone else served first. My brother has even seen servers chasing people down the road telling them that they'd forgotten to tip. In circumstances where the service is poor (and I mean really poor) then it seems to be the norm to still leave a tip but one that's really derisory.
It's all complete rubbish, I had frequent arguments with my brothers ex over it. Apparently a lot of catering jobs are really badly paid, I can't quite work out why it should then be my responsibility to pay them...but the Canadians seem to think it is.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| lynnecha wrote: |
| Why is this so emotional for people? Why so much resentment towards ordinary people just doing a job? If the tip system was not part of the culture, presumably the menu prices would be higher. Have some respect for people in their own home. If you don't like the culture, go somewhere else where you feel more comfortable. |
I work in the office for a construction company, I get paid a salary, I provide a service, I get no tips. As in the famous scene from Resevoir Dogs, why do we feel that it's okay to tip one group of people but not another? And yes, I would far rather have marginally higher menu prices and not have the hassle of tipping. A tip should be something that rewards excellent service, not something that rewards average service.
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@SnoodyMcFlude, that's your choice, but if you behave like that *in the UK* then some of us would think it rude. The UK system is different, but not that different. Of the 80% of us who can actually read, quite a few buy the Sun and the Daily Mail, so I should not be surprised by things like this, yet I still am.
Whatever, everyone in Canada is really nice: they don't hold me responsible for the fact that some of my countrymen behave like arrogant arses.
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One thing I've not figured out in quite a few years of living in the UK: what should you do if the service was good but the food terrible?
Last night I had that scenario, and I did leave a UK tip, and I did not complain about the food.
My rationale: it's hardly the waitress's fault, and the food was clearly not going to get better even if I bitched about it.
You just have to be firm with the Fairmont guys. I wheel my boards in, they ask the inevitable question, and I resist the temptation to say "I got it all the way across London and across the atlantic to this point, I think I can manage the 50m from where you make me leave the trolley to my room. I think it's possible to be a cheapskate without being an arse. The Greyhound guys will load and unload your stuff and they do not expect tips, and neither do Greyhound drivers. Some of the passengers may decapitate rude English people given half a chance, mind.
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The Swissies had a go at eliminating this a few years ago - tips were included in the bill by law. It's still traditional to round the bill up to the next Franc, but the problem has largely been eliminated.
But Brits still agonise over the tip 
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@philwig You misundertood me, I tip like everyone else, whether I'm in the UK or abroad, and I try to tip more if I get good service. However the whole system is, to the core, a bit messed up. Essentially it's a system where the customer has to put an unspoken figure towards the bill so that the people working in a bar or restaurant can increase their meagre wage to something that you can actually live on. Would you rather that people are underpaid and have to rely on the generosity of customers to make a proper living, or that they are paid a fair and just wage by their employer in the first place? I also don't get why people would tip in a bar as a matter of course but less likely to do so in a coffee shop or fast food chain.
BTW I don't read a daily paper (get me news through the internet) but it certainly wouldn't be the Daily Mail or Sun if I did.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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More interesting questions that demands an answer. I'm not pretending my way is the "right" way. But you can be creative...
| philwig wrote: |
One thing I've not figured out in quite a few years of living in the UK: what should you do if the service was good but the food terrible?
Last night I had that scenario, and I did leave a UK tip, and I did not complain about the food.
My rationale: it's hardly the waitress's fault, and the food was clearly not going to get better even if I bitched about it. |
There're two different issue here: the food and the service.
With regard of the food, you CAN ask for a re-do of the dish; a different dish; a discount for the bad food; or free desert (most commonly offered).
I almost always ask for a re-do or a replacement dish, assuming the place is the sort that cares about its food. In places (lower price restaurants) that I don't want to risk the time waste for just another bad dish, I complain and either get free drink or free desert. And if I don't care to risk even their badly made desert, I "suggest" a substantial discount (although one wonders why would one eat there in the first place).
However, after the server done his/her best to get the replacement or discount, the tip should be calculated with the non-discounted food price, including the "free" desert!!! (also an unwritten rule that if you have a coupon, tip as though you don't: 15-20% of full, non-discounted price)
| Quote: |
| The Greyhound guys will load and unload your stuff and they do not expect tips, and neither do Greyhound drivers. Some of the passengers may decapitate rude English people given half a chance, mind. |
Actually, many of us North Americans tip the Greyhound driver a dollar or two!
They do get a regular salary for DRIVING the bus! Though not for loading and unloading your luggage. So while tips are not "expected", they do appreciate it!
Moreover, the Fairmont guys also got a regular salary too. So you're not exactly denying their food or shelter. If you don't want them to carry your board, you will not be viewed as a cheapskate. They would just shake their head in confusion, wondering why you have the money to stay there but not wish to "live it up" accordingly.
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FAQ
) he left 10%. The waitress came over to the table and actually pulled him on it. She said they expected 15% minimum. At that point, the drink took over and I told her what I thought of her attitude and the food.... 
She didn't get her extra 5%. Rude cow.