Customers intent on leaving tips at Vancouver’s Folke restaurant tend not to get very far.
“They’ll hide it under napkins or under their plate,” said co-owner Pricilla Deo. “If we catch it while they’re still here, we just hand it back to them and politely remind them that we’re a no-tipping restaurant.”
When diners do make it out the door without tips being noticed, she says the money is used to fund staff dinners.
Folke introduced its no-tipping policy when the vegan restaurant opened in June 2022. Deo says employees earn well above minimum wage ($15.65 per hour in B.C.) and get full benefits. All overhead costs, including salaries, have already been factored into the menu prices, so customers simply pay the bill.
“It was really important to us to have an inclusive work environment where everyone was compensated fairly,” said Deo.“It’s not our customers’ responsibility to pay our staff properly. … It’s our responsibility to make sure that our staff are taken care of.”
It’s a concept that recent polls suggest many Canadians would like to see catch on, as inflation has led to higher menu prices (up 8.2 per cent higher in January compared to the previous year), and diners say they feel pressured to dole out bigger tips.
Server Jeanine Fahlman clears plates at Folke restaurant. The owners of the vegan eatery that operates on a no-tipping model said they feel it’s their responsibility — not their customers’ — to ensure their staff is fairly compensated. (Rafe Arnott/CBC)
A new Angus Reid poll found that 59 per cent of Canadians surveyed would prefer an all-inclusive, no-tipping model where staff is paid a higher wage.
More than three in five Canadians also said that over the past few years, they’ve been asked to tip more often and dole out larger tips.
The poll surveyed 1,610 adults online. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
There’s also hard evidence that Canadians are shelling out more in tips. The average gratuity jumped from 16 to 20 per cent between Jan. 1, 2019, and Jan. 1, 2023, according to technology and payment services company Square, which says it counts hundreds of thousands of Canadian businesses as clients.
What’s fuelling push for increased tips
Two big factors are driving customers to up their tips, suggests Marc Mentzer, an organizational behaviour professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s Edwards School of Business.
First, he says, the pandemic has generated sympathy for the hospitality industry which suffered big losses during lockdowns.
Second, said Mentzer, the pre-programmed tip amounts on electronic credit and debit card readers may be goading some people into tipping more.
“There are percentages that are pre-programmed into the device,” said Mentzer, noting it can be awkward to navigate the self-select tip option. “Even more awkward if I have to ask the server, ‘How do I leave a non-standard tip?'”
WATCH | Some restaurants going tip-free:
Some restaurants going ‘tip free’, opting to boost wages instead
12 hours ago
Duration 2:08
Some restaurants are doing away with tipping to combat ‘tip fatigue’ amongst cash-strapped customers, opting to adjust menu prices and boost servers’ wages instead.
Back at Folke Restaurant, customer Anshul Bhandari said he’s noticed drastically higher tip-prompt amounts on card readers over the years.
“It’s gone as crazy as … up to 30 per cent — even for take-out,” he said. “It’s not nice from a consumer point of view.”
Bhandari applauds the transparent, no-tipping model. So does customer Jason Yip.
“I would prefer knowing exactly what the bill would be at the end of the day and also knowing that the server is getting paid a fair wage,” he said.
Tipping ingrained in Canadian culture
Mentzer said he takes issue with tipping in general, because a server’s age, gender or race could affect how much they make in gratuities.
“It’s really a weird way of compensating people,” he said. “There are some serious issues of human rights.”
In several countries, such as Japan and Denmark, gratuities are not expected and the service is included in the bill.
Even so, Mentzer said he believes tipping is here to stay in Canada, because it’s ingrained in our culture.
Richard Alexander, the Atlantic vice-president of industry group Restaurants Canada echoes that thought. He estimates no more than two per cent of restaurants in the country have adopted the no-tipping model.
“The gratuity is firmly established,” he said. “What we hear from consumers is they prefer to have the control.”
At Lazy Daisy’s Cafe in Toronto, customer Mike Stepko said he always leaves a tip, but wants the option to top it up — when warranted.
“There are times where the service is pretty much outstanding,” he said. “That’s where you want to give 20 to 25 per cent. … I don’t think that should ever change.”
Dawn Chapman, owner of Lazy Daisy’s Cafe in Toronto, says she’s supportive of the no-tipping model, but isn’t quite ready to adopt it because she’d have to raise prices and risk losing customers. (James Dunne/CBC)
Another hurdle is that many restaurants may not be ready to shift to a no-tipping model, fearful of the consequences.
Lazy Daisy’s owner, Dawn Chapman, supports such a model, but said she would only adopt it if it became the norm across Canada. That’s because, in order to boost wages, Chapman estimates she would have to raise menu prices by 20 per cent.
“It’s too risky,” she said. “My worry is that people would come in and say I don’t wanna pay $15 for a breakfast sandwich. I’m gonna go to the place where I can pay $11 and choose a 10 per cent tip.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
