Canadians split on how much and when to tip at restaurants, survey shows

People enjoy the warm weather and dine on a terrace in Montreal, Thursday, May 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

When it comes to tipping etiquette, a new survey suggests there is little agreement among Canadians on where and how much to tip.

The poll, conducted by Research Co., found that 37 per cent of Canadians would tip between 15 to 19 per cent if they receive exceptional service at a restaurant that is not busy.

But at a busy restaurant, 34 per cent said they would offer a tip of 20 per cent or higher if they received exceptional service. That number jumps slightly, to 36 per cent, if the restaurant was exceptionally busy.

Similarly, for service that's good but not exceptional, 34 to 41 per cent of respondents said they would tip between 15 to 19 per cent, depending on how busy the restaurant was, but only 19 to 25 per cent said they would tip 20 per cent or more.

Only four per cent said they would leave no tip at a restaurant if the service was good or exceptional.

For average service, 41 per cent said they would tip 10 to 14 per cent, while 28 per cent said they would tip 15 to 19 per cent. Only four per cent said they would tip 20 per cent or more, while seven per cent said they would leave no tip.

When it comes to below-average service, 36 per cent said they would tip 10 to 14 per cent if the server was clearly working in an understaffed environment. Nine per cent would tip nothing and 21 per cent would tip less than 10 per cent, while 28 per cent would still tip 15 to 19 per cent.

However, for poor service when the server is clearly not busy, a majority said they would leave a tip of below 10 per cent. Of the respondents, 31 per cent said they would leave no tip and 30 per cent would leave tip between one and nine per cent.

“Two-in-five Canadians aged 55 and over (40 per cent) would walk away from a sit-down restaurant without leaving a tip if they perceive that their server was idle and aloof,” says Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., in a news release. “The proportions are lower among Canadians aged 35 to 54 (29 per cent) and aged 18 to 34 (24 per cent).”

MOST CANADIANS WON'T TIP FOR TAKEOUT

Slightly more than half of Canadians (54 per cent) said they don't tip when they pick their food up to go, while 20 per cent said they tip less than 10 per cent.

Around 48 to 53 per cent also said they never leave a tip at cafeteria-style restaurants and takeout restaurants, but more than half (57 per cent) said they tip at coffee shops at least some of the time.

For food delivery orders, 40 per cent said they would tip 10 to 14 per cent, while 29 per cent said they would tip one to nine per cent.

Some restaurants across Canada have opted to eliminate tipping and instead pay their staff higher wages. The survey suggests most Canadians may favour this model, as 59 per cent somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement, "If the salaries of food servers were better, there would be no need to tip servers."

METHODOLOGY

The survey polled 1,000 adults in Canada online from Dec. 10 to Dec. 12, 2022. The data has been weighted to reflect Canadian census data on age, gender and regional distribution. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.