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James Rilett, the central Canada vice-president of Restaurants Canada, said it’s hard to say if generous tippers will keep up with their higher rate of tipping, or if they’ll return to their pre-pandemic rates
Tipping options for customers in Calgary on Thursday, August 25, 2022. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
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A survey of Canadians’ tipping practices shows that 34 per cent of Albertans are tipping more at restaurants than they did before the pandemic.
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The survey results from an Angus Reid poll on behalf of Restaurants Canada found that nationally, 44 per cent of Canadians said they are tipping higher than they used to. And while a smaller proportion of Albertans say they’re tipping more, the average gratuity is about 17.5 per cent, which is close to the national average of 17.6 per cent.
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James Rilett, the central Canada vice-president of Restaurants Canada, said the people who are tipping more have told them it’s out of an appreciation for those in the service industry who experienced layoffs and wage cuts during the pandemic.
“I also think, when restaurants were restricted, people realized they enjoy restaurants and they’re happy to get back in and see their servers again. I think it’s made people feel good and when people feel good, they like to share, and in this case do that through tipping,” said Rilett.
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According to the survey, which polled 1,500 Canadians in April, 47 per cent of Canadian women said they are tipping more than they did in 2019, while 41 per cent of men said the same.
Ontario saw the highest increase in generous gratuities, with 53 per cent of respondents saying they are tipping more now than they did in the past. The average tip in Ontario was found to be 18.9 per cent, according to the survey.
Financial technology company Square said in a statement that on their platform, it’s up to the sellers to enable and customize their tip settings. Nationally, Square noted that in-person, tip-enabled card transactions have seen an average tip of about 17 per cent in 2022, while the average tip was 16 per cent in 2019.
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Rilett said it’s hard to say if generous tippers will keep up with their higher rate of tipping, or if they’ll return to their pre-pandemic rates.
“The amounts of tipping have historically continued to creep up slowly,” he said. “Obviously more people tipping higher helps workers. It puts a little more cash in their pockets and helps them pay some bills they might not have been able to pay when they were laid off.”
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Chris Hewitt, the owner of Dickens pub in downtown Calgary, said his servers have already seen a dip in tips from the higher totals collected when pandemic restrictions were dropped.
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“We’re usually in the 15 to 20 per cent range,” said Hewitt. “We saw a distinct jump when we first reopened with the sense that we would be staying open permanently this time, right at the beginning of March.”
He heard from patrons who said they were grateful to be able to go out again and wanted to help the staff after a challenging time.
“But that can’t possibly be sustainable forever,” he said. “People can only stay in a certain state of heightened awareness or concern or generosity for so long. It’s just too much to keep up with, I think.”
The spike in tips lasted for a little longer than a month but has since tapered off to the 15 to 20 per cent range again, he explained, which is aligned with the Restaurants Canada survey, whose data shows the average tip in Alberta is 17.5 per cent.
Hewitt said it will take more than an increase in tips for service industry staff and owners to fully recover from the long-term impacts of the pandemic.
sbabych@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BabychStephanie
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