Although customary, tipping is often a source of confusion as to how much and to whom it should be given.
• Read also: Rising gas prices: a challenge for delivery people
• Read also: Minimum wage up $0.75 an hour
• Read also: Tipping: Canadians more generous than before the pandemic
The pandemic and the labor shortage have exacerbated these questions, since many want to give an extra helping hand to the service sectors that have been hard hit.
Here is a little guide to tipping in 2022.
In restaurants, the norm is around 15%, according to Julie Blais Comeau, etiquette specialist and speaker.
“But I must admit that after everything that happened during the pandemic, the confinement, we recognized the precariousness of these jobs and there is a movement which is upwards, at around 18%”, she says in an interview with LCN.
But be careful, the amount of the tip must indeed be calculated on the total before taxes.
You should therefore be wary of the “%” option offered on payment terminals since the tip percentage is then often calculated on the total after taxes.
“So do the math yourself instead, go with your own percentage and offer the dollars accordingly,” advises the etiquette specialist.
For delivery people, Ms. Blais Comeau recommends tipping 10%, but a minimum amount of $5 if the total bill is below $50.
“If you order something for $25, go with the $5, especially with the weather, there are those considerations there and there, now there’s the increase in gas,” she says. .
You also have to be careful with some delivery services that add the tip to the total amount of the bill after adding taxes.
Customers should tip approximately 10% for esthetic services, hairdressing, manicures, styling, etc.
“But, you know, if in doubt, you can always, when you make an appointment, do it on the phone instead of online and find out. Ask: what is the average tip at home for such a service?”
Although it’s tempting not to leave a tip when you receive bad service, Julie Blais Comeau still recommends leaving an amount, even if it’s smaller.
“Reduce tipping, yes, but not tipping, I think that would be malicious. Malicious not only towards the person of service, but all the people in the kitchen”, she specifies.
The etiquette specialist also suggests informing the manager of poor service, but also when the service received is excellent.