A Vancouver Local Says They're 'Going Back' To Tipping 10% & It Sparked A Heated Debate
"I'm done. The inflation and pricing is out of control"
Someone ordering at a Starbucks.
It's not surprising to see 18 or even 20% pop up as the lowest tip option when you're paying for a meal nowadays — and people have mixed feelings about the steep suggestions.
Vancouver's one of the most costly cities in Canada, so many residents of the metropolis aren't exactly excited to be dishing out extra cash, and in a recent Vancouver Reddit thread, they're letting it be known.
A post that's racked up 1,800 comments in less than 24 hours details the frustration that comes along with tipping culture.
The OP said that they are going back to tipping 10% for eating out and to some baristas as a blanket rule.
"I just can't deal with 18 or 20% anymore. Unless the food is goddamn 10/10 and the service isn't pretentious and is genuinely great, I'm tipping 10%," they wrote.
Other guidelines they're going with include "15% for exceptional everything," no tip for take-away (unless they are getting coffee made by a barista), and no "tipping for beers that the 'bartender' literally opens a can on."
"I'm done. The inflation and pricing are out of control on the food and I'm not paying 18% when my food is almost double in cost compared to a few years back," they added.
In case didn't already notice it on your weekly grocery receipts, food can be expensive AF. Food prices in Canada were predicted to go up by 5% to 7% in 2023, so things, in general, might be costing more than they used to.
Some Vancouver locals are feeling it.
Others are just flat-out annoyed.
A common guideline people follow is to only tip if the server was bringing them the food.
As a whole, people in the comments were going off about tipping, sharing frustrations over things like being asked to tip at spots like liquor stores, and minimum tip suggestions on machines rising.
On the flip side, some pointed out that it's not usually a requirement.
Guilt also seems to play a role.
It's clear not everyone's on the same page about tipping, to say the least.
If you're asking ChatGPT, it recommends tipping 15 to 20% of the total, pre-tax, to servers, hairdressers, and most other services.
Narcity spoke to a tipping expert named Lisa Orr who said that if you're eating out at a restaurant, you should definitely be tipping 15 to 20%. Orr also brought up the fact that servers likely have to tip out the other restaurant workers behind the scenes.
This was echoed in the Vancouver Reddit thread too.
It's safe to say that the debate is not over.