As visitors from other countries poured into Vancouver bars and restaurants, some encountered an unfamiliar practice.<\/p>\n
Kurt Johnson remembers leaving a bar in downtown Vancouver feeling like he\u2019d just been robbed.<\/p>\n
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While he\u2019s a fan of the Australia national football team, Johnson came to Canada in June to watch New Zealand play Egypt at BC Place as part of the FIFA World Cup. He said he could feel the World Cup spirit as soon as he got off the plane and hopped on the SkyTrain.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe entire atmosphere and vibes of everywhere we went really was awesome,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was definitely what I expected from a World Cup city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson speaks fondly of his time walking Granville street, heading to fan zones, and checking out the waterfront. But Johnson said every time he went to pay for a meal, he noticed a Canadian custom that was a little weird.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIn our culture, our staff are paid accordingly to begin with, so there\u2019s no requirement to tip,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really awkward situation where you\u2019re standing there with a waiter or waitress you\u2019ve got to press that button.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He said at one bar, a card machine prompted him to leave a tip \u2014 even though gratuity was already included in the bill. Johnson didn\u2019t realize until he\u2019d already left.<\/p>\n
\u201cI double tipped,\u201d he said. \u201cI kind of laughed it off, but then I thought about it, and was like, \u2018Hang on, they\u2019ve just stolen from me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
And while the fiasco was a minor part of an otherwise great trip, Johnson said it underscored the Canadian tipping culture. He\u2019s one of thousands<\/a> of people who arrived in Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup \u2014 not all from countries where tipping is standard practice.<\/p>\n The influx of visitors has highlighted the differences between hospitality wages in Canada and places like Australia, where tipping is not obligatory and staff are paid a higher minimum wage. Johnson says for customers, the model takes the guesswork out of a night out.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a labour researcher said the model means workers more reliably get fair pay.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is a low minimum wage and workers are reliant on variable tips to earn a living this is not providing fair pay,\u201d said Fiona Macdonald, policy director with the Centre for Future Work. \u201cHuman labour cannot be treated as a commodity that changes price at the whim of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n But while the Australian model may provide more stability for servers, Milena Stanoeva with the industry association Restaurants Canada said it could mean higher menu prices.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s only so much that a restaurant owner on like three to five per cent profit margins can absorb without having to raise their own prices,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it\u2019s got positives and negatives.\u201d<\/p>\n The FIFA World Cup has put a spotlight on hospitality staff\u2019s pay. About a month before the first game, Vancouver hospitality workers protested<\/a> their own working conditions and low pay as they braced for the games.<\/p>\n Stanoeva, senior director of public affairs and communications at Restaurants Canada, said that she\u2019s seen people reflect on hospitality staff\u2019s reliance on tips online.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely different expectations coming in from other cultures, about how tipping should be handled,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In Switzerland<\/a>, for example, tips are not obligatory, but guests may leave an approximately 10 per cent tip for excellent service. In New Zealand<\/a>, it\u2019s also not common to leave tips. Adjusting to Canada\u2019s tipping practices can be tricky for visitors, said Vancouver city Coun. Lucy Maloney. Maloney previously lived in Australia, where she worked in hospitality.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are mixed messages because of Canada\u2019s proximity to the United States,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can be pretty confusing and overwhelming for people that don\u2019t come from a tipping culture.\u201d<\/p>\n In Australia, menu prices include tax and service charges. From back home in Sydney, Johnson said knowing the price of a meal up-front makes it easier to stick to a budget.<\/p>\n He said he\u2019s heard the argument that tipping means better service, but he\u2019s not convinced.<\/p>\n \u201cI disagree with that,\u201d he said. \u201cI think you get just the same service, no matter if they\u2019re getting tips or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Stanoeva said Canada\u2019s tipping culture is influenced by a history of tipped workers making less than minimum wage in some provinces, she said. Quebec, for example, still has a minimum wage for tipped workers that\u2019s lower.<\/p>\n Still, Stanoeva said Canadian tipping practices are changing. B.C. eliminated<\/a> a lower minimum wage for liquor servers in 2021, and Ontario did the same<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n She said the rising minimum wage has forced some restaurants to adjust their business plans to account for the increased cost in staff wages.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big increase in labour costs over a short period of time, and especially a period of time that\u2019s been difficult for them to handle with the pandemic,\u201d Stanoeva said. \u201cBut we have to adapt to the world of work.\u201d<\/p>\n Stanoeva said tipping practices also make server jobs more competitive, giving some the ability to earn more than a restaurant wage.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada also has this culture of gratitude where a lot of diners feel like they want to reward having a good experience and having a good connection with their server,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n