Though not common in Singapore, tipping culture is extremely prevalent in Canada and the United States. Known also as a “gratuity” to servers, tipping was originally intended to “show thanks”, like the name implies, to those in the service industry for a job well done. For example, if you went to a restaurant and your waiter gave you excellent recommendations and went above and beyond to ensure that you had a pleasant experience, you might choose to tip them a small amount of money for a job well done. While this would be a sufficient gesture of appreciation 10 years ago, one gets the sense that tipping has become something of an obligation, especially due to the prevalence of contactless payments in a post-COVID world. It is not uncommon to order a coffee at a cafe and be faced with the option of giving a 15%, 18% or 20% tip on the point-of-sales machine, with no obvious option to skip it. Your $5 coffee has just become $6.50 or more, and by the end of the month you’ve blown your budget. 

While you might be inclined to blame the employees for being greedy or hovering over your shoulder as you decide between percentages, it is actually corporations who have become more and more dependent on customers’ tips to pay employees their minimum wage. 

Let’s unpack that:

In 2024, the average wage for a waiter in Canada was between $14 and $26 an hour. In Cactus Club, a popular chain restaurant, inexperienced waiters start at just $15 an hour, $2.40 lower than the average wage. Unless you work in fine dining, bartend, or are in a managerial position, all of which require large amounts of experience and training, just your wage alone will never be enough to get by. 

So how did we get here?

Tipping was actually not customary in North America at all until the mid 1800s, when wealthy Americans, inspired by their European counterparts, started leaving tips for service staff. While the notion was first met with opposition and even banned in certain states as it was seen as a practice reserved for the rich and snobbish, tipping became ingrained in culture after the civil war, when slaves were expected to get by on tips from customers instead of getting paid fair wages. The custom became increasingly popular until even anti-tipping laws were rescinded, and a new legislation was passed in 1938 that an employees federal minimum wage would be made up of tips and subsidised wages from their employer. 

Now therein lies the problem- customers are expected to cover an employee’s wages by the law. 

With high inflation rates leading to lower affordability, how are we as customers expected to pay the wages of employees of the service sector? More importantly, how are employees expected to survive without the promise of consistent wages? If an employee doesn’t earn enough tips per shift, they might not be able to afford basic amenities, let alone live a decent quality of life. Instead, employees are put in the uncomfortable position of needing to over-pander to customers, creating a power dynamic where the customer truly is always right. A waiter might not speak up if they are treated inappropriately if it means they earn enough in tips to eat that day, which could lead to more sinister behaviour by some ill-wishing, entitled customers. 

If tipping was something established so that employers would not need to pay slaves, should it still be allowed in society today? A study by researchers at Queen’s University found that servers already suffered from burnout, felt emotionally drained and dehumanised by their occupation, and often went above and beyond to ensure they received no complaints. Combining that with the need for tips would place servers in a perpetual state of anxiety, constantly wondering if they’ve done enough to appease customers. 

While we as consumers unfortunately cannot change wage laws, we can ensure that we tip fairly when we are able to. However, the most significant change we all can make is to be nicer to serving staff when we dine out. Like us, servers are human, and make mistakes or have bad days. Instead of having an attitude of entitlement when something doesn’t go our way, we could show compassion to servers who are trying to do their best in a high stress environment. And, if ever presented the opportunity, we could advocate for servers to receive higher wages, and eventually put an end to obligatory tipping culture once and for all.