Canadians want to tip 15% at restaurants: survey

Despite what the default options on payment terminals might read, Canadians still want to tip around 15 per cent, according to a new survey.

While tipping at sit-down restaurants is generally seen as appropriate, the majority of people don’t want to be asked to chip in any extra money when it comes to takeout food.

The survey, conducted by Narrative Research, asked more than 1,200 people what businesses they felt it was appropriate to be asked for a tip.

Overall, 77 per cent of Canadians were fine with tipping at a sit-down restaurant. The majority of people were also fine with tipping at salons, while nearly half of people thought hotel housekeeping, taxi services and food delivery deserved extra cash on top of the cost.

At the bottom of the list were retail stores, where only seven per cent of people said a tip could be appropriate. And for fast-food places, restaurant takeout and grocery picking, around four out of five people said they wouldn’t want to tip.

How much to tip?

According to a 2023 Angus Reid survey, Canadians said they were being asked to tip more and more often. Despite this “tip-flation”, most people feel a tip of 15 per cent is still the appropriate amount to voluntarily tack onto their bills.

When asked about tipping at a sit-down restaurant, nearly half of all respondents said a 15 per cent tip was the way to go. Six per cent responded with no tip, and only two per cent wanted to tip 25 per cent or above.

The response of 15 per cent for tips was especially stark in Quebec, where two-thirds of respondents said that number was the way to go.

For a hair salon or barber shop, 15 per cent won out again, but people said they tend to tip a bit less.

The survey was conducted between Aug. 9 and 10, 2024. In total, 1,230 people responded to the online survey. Results were geographically weighted proportionately to 2016 Census demographic results. Narrative Research said the non-probability sampling represented a “good cross-section of Canadian residents” based on age, income, employment status, ethnicity and education levels.