OPINION: Why do we tip some workers and not others?

It’s time to ask whether customers should be responsible for paying employees or whether that responsibility belongs with employers. Why do we tip some workers but not others? It’s a simple question, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.

Why is it normal to tip a restaurant server, bartender, hairstylist or tour guide, but not the countless other people who provide exceptional service every day? Why do we reward great service in only a handful of industries while simply expecting it everywhere else?

As both a customer and a business owner, I find that difficult to explain.

For years, restaurant servers in Ontario earned a lower minimum wage because tips were expected to make up the difference. That changed in 2022. Today, servers earn the same minimum wage as most other employees, yet our expectations around tipping have only continued to grow.

Payment terminals now routinely suggest tips of 18%, 20%, 22% and even 25%.

Somewhere along the way, tipping stopped being a genuine thank-you for exceptional service and became something many of us feel obligated to pay.

If you choose not to tip – or simply leave less than the suggested amount – you can almost feel like you’ve broken an unwritten social rule. Some people even worry they’ll receive poorer service the next time they visit. That doesn’t sound like a voluntary gesture anymore.

Then there’s the automatic gratuity. Many restaurants automatically add an 18% or 20% gratuity for larger groups. Think about that for a moment. I choose your restaurant. I bring eight or 10 paying customers through your door. We spend hundreds of dollars. I’ve helped increase your sales for the evening, yet I’m automatically charged an additional fee simply because of the size of my group.

If tipping is meant to recognize exceptional service, shouldn’t it remain my choice? And if it isn’t optional, perhaps we should stop calling it a tip. It’s simply part of the price.

Here’s another contradiction. Many consumers would push back if a business added a small surcharge to recover the cost of accepting a credit card. Yet many of those same people willingly add another 20% to the cost of a meal without giving it a second thought. One sparks frustration. The other has become expected.

As a business owner, I see another consequence. Every employer competes for the same pool of workers. Restaurants, retailers, manufacturers, offices and service businesses are all trying to attract and keep good employees.

Yet only a handful of industries have developed a compensation model where customers are expected to supplement employee wages. That creates an uneven playing field. I’m not suggesting customers should start tipping retail employees. Quite the opposite. I believe every employer should be responsible for paying employees what they need to earn.

If a restaurant needs to pay more to attract and retain great team members, then it should simply pay more, just as every other business is expected to do.

The cost of labour should be built into the advertised price, not left for customers to calculate after the meal. Recently, my wife and I were travelling in Spain and took a rickshaw tour through the city. At the end of the ride, we reached for our wallets to leave a tip. Our driver smiled and gently stopped us.

“Please don’t tip,” she said.

She explained that locals are becoming concerned because tourists are bringing North America’s tipping culture with them. Restaurant staff, drivers and other service workers are beginning to feel pressure to expect tips, and many Spaniards don’t want their country heading in that direction.

That conversation stayed with me. Spain reminded me that there is another way. The price is the price. Employers pay employees. Customers know exactly what they’ll pay before they buy.

Great service is expected because that’s what professionals do, not because someone hopes for a larger tip.

I still tip. But I’ve started lowering the percentage – not because I’m cheap, but because I believe the responsibility for paying employees belongs with employers, not customers.

This isn’t a criticism of servers. They’re working within the system they’ve been given. It’s a criticism of a compensation model that has quietly shifted responsibility for employee compensation from employers to customers.

A tip should be a thank you, not a payroll system. So I’ll leave you with the same question I started with: why do we tip some workers and not others?

Maybe it’s time we stop asking customers how much they should tip and start asking employers what they should pay.

I’d love to hear what others think. Is tipping still a reward for exceptional service, or has it simply become part of the bill?

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Pete Mohr owns Shoetopia stores in Fergus and Mount Forest and is a business coach. He writes about business, leadership and community issues from his home in Centre Wellington.