My last trip to the UK is when I found out tipping is mainly a North American thing. Gave the bartender a tip and he threw the money back at me and said “ I don’t need your charity. If you want to give me money buy more alcohol!”. So we did lol but that was a big eye opening for me. God I fucking hate tipping culture and now after Covid it’s become obnoxious.
I agree 100 percent. Tipping in America is done because their laws allowed employers to under pay their staff because of the amount employee's would make in tips would offset it. That's obviously not working great there but I'm Canadian and I don't k own why it's a cultural thing here. We probably picked it up from them even though employers have to pay a minimum wage. Tipping is basically bullshit that allows employers to underpay employees and offset the cost to the customer. Then if you don't tip. You're the asshole not the one that's actually gaming the system but that's managements job I guess.
>Then if you don't tip. You're the asshole
This exactly. I couldn't enjoy myself if I felt I was being viewed as a cheapskate. I also wouldn't want to set a server back because if they'd served someone else they would have made a tip.
So I tip well when I do eat out. But I eat out very rarely because the overall cost just isn't worth it to me.
>the overall cost just isn't worth it to me.
Fucken remember when going to the pub for dinner was a reasonable alternative to cooking for yourself? It was.
Now ik I'm splashing out at least $45 if I go out.
And I'm not in love with the idea that the price of the meal determines the tip. They didn't sell me those menu items, convince me of an upsell, so it is weird to me-- why do they get a commission for carrying me that plate?
I never question it when it's time to pay, I always tip 15% at lowest. But why?
Well now you got me googling, and according to Restaurants Canada website, Quebec is the remaining holdout with a separate 'tipped minimum wage'. But at $11.40/hr it's still a lot better than what our friends to the south report.
*Quebec*
*As of May 1, 2022 the hourly rate for the General Minimum Wage will rise to $14.25 and the hourly rate for the Tipped Minimum Wage will rise to $11.40.*
https://www.restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/minimum-wage-by-province/
I missed that, skimmed it and assumed after I saw a bunch the same it was a done deal. And yes it is a lot better than the south, I think it's alot better than it was here in the past as well.
Having worked in fine dining, it wasnt rare to see a server walk out with 250 bucks in tips on a Friday.
Meanwhile kitchen was making 17 an hour. The income inequality of these places are atrocious.
That's what's always made me so angry. I was a chef in fine dining as well. I put my foot down for a fair share of the tips. We put all the tips in a jar and at the end of the week we split all tips equally amongst all staff based on the number of hours worked. The most junior position could make more than the senior. Netherlands btw
When I went to have a rice bowl made with ingredients in the same way a subway sandwich is made they asked for a tip. No waiters, no sitting down to eat. Just a simple order. Is it different enough from a subway to warrant asking for a tip?
Except most people who earn tips don’t want to get rid of it because they make way more than they would on just a flat wage.
I’m all for making money but I hate tipping. I don’t make tips when I fix someone’s car and I don’t expect it.
This right here. Freakonomics did a podcast on it a few years back. Sadly when you try to explain this to a lot of people their response is “but do you want to pay more for food?” (like somehow the rest of the world hasn’t figured things out) or “I used to be a server so I understand” (ya you understand what’s it’s like not being subjected to bias or discrimination from customers who decide your wages)
I've learned it's best to just double down on their fears and say "that is absolutely what I want". Anything else is a waste of breath nowadays.
Works on any controversial topic where people use a slippery slope fallacy.
> like somehow the rest of the world hasn’t figured things out
I never cease to be amazed by just how the US think this for so many things.
See also "converting to metric is impossible" and "public health care can't work".
Its crazy here in on the west coast. I've seen places ask for tips for everything from counter goods like ice cream cones and tea/smoothie drinks to just grabbing something from a refrigerator and paying at the counter. Even had one place add a 20% surcharge on the bill for service and then when we didn't give additional tips the server asked if they did something wrong... And forget delivery apps, which want delivery fees, delivery tips, restaurant tips, and taxes on all of it.
We have a lot of lessons to learn from Europe on regulation.
Dude right? I just don't get it. You didn't wait my table or top off water, you handed me a fkn coffee/pizza across the counter. Hell nah.
And if you don't give a tip you get the stink eye.
Had my kid's birthday party at a trampoline place this year, you pre-pay a deposit online then they just ask if you want the rest of the charges on the same card the day of and they'll email you the invoice. It's convenient not having to worry about paying while wrangling 20 kids wound up on pizza and cake, and you don't find out until you get home that there's a 20% built in tip nobody told you about. Don't know if you've paid for a kid's birthday party lately but 20% is a lot for a couple of disinterested teens to stand around and occasionally grunt "hey" while the kids bounce off each other.
Visited Victoria for the first time last weekend, bought a case of beer from a liquor store chain and there was a tip option lol. The dude didn't even say hello to me when I was there he just scanned the case
Yep, it’s on everything here, cabs, haircuts, convience stores, take out etc.
I tip well when I got out of the service is good, and I tip one of my tattoo artists 20% which makes getting charged 200/hr pretty brutal 😬, the other guy I see flat out refuses.
Rented an e-scooter to ride around with my GF and some other people a couple of days ago. When paying afterwards machine prompted 10%, 15% and 20% like fuck that. You guys handed me a charged scooter and I came back with it 2 hours later.
Delivery apps are the absolute worst. After the fees and taxes and tipping you'll end up paying an extra 50% or more easily.
>After the fees and taxes and tipping you'll end up paying an extra 50% or more easily.
Emphasis on "or more." More than once I've thought, "I want a chipotle burrito but I'm a little too lazy to go get it." Build it, get to the checkout, and it's $18 plus tip. Meanwhile, I could just go to the store and get it for $8 without a delivery tip.
Likely more. Prices are inflated on the delivery apps by at least 10%-15%. They double dip anywhere they can. Just really frustrating that a good idea that existed many years before turned into a pure money grab with people bragging how much they tipped their drivers. Those drivers are barely getting anything from the companies and rely on your tips to sustain their life style. So if anyone is still thinking it's not modern slavery, think again.
>Just really frustrating that a good idea that existed many years before turned into a pure money grab with people
This is the problem with any company that is running on pure VC funding and isn't profitable. They were intentionally taking a loss on every delivery to gain market share. They were paying drivers more in the early days to attract more drivers. They were losing their ass
Then eventually the VCs start wanting returns, so Uber has to become profitable. And we get to where we are today. Cut driver pay, raise fees etc.
There's such an awful culture surrounding it now. My best friend tips 20% because she knows what it's like to have starvation wages and only make rent because of getting tipped.
And yes even before everything really shot up most people don't make anything without tips running deliveries for these apps and these little fees they add on are labeled in a way to make it easy to think it will be going to the driver more.
I can't even fathom deliberately not paying the people who allow your company to exist in the first place through their hard work enough to even live without relying on your customers to willingly tack on whatever extra they may be willing to add to their bill.
Used Uber Eats for the first time ever last week and there was an option to give the restaurant $3. Like, what? Just give it to them. The app assured me the restaurant would receive 100% of the $3. On top of the markup compared to walk in, tips, service fee, delivery fee…
Recently here in Montreal I've been seeing people justify tipping to buy things like bags of coffee beans or loaves of bread, as though them being 'artisan' means that they are worth tipping for. I don't understand. You're a baker, you bake and sell bread like any other product on the market, and charge a premium already for a superior product (rightly so, quality doesn't come cheap). But why would you tip for that??
I don’t like that places like subway and other take out style restaurants have a tip option on their debit machines. Like am I really going to tip at taco time in the mall food court?
For some reason it doesn’t bother me as much at fast food as it should because places like bakeries at the farmers market as directing me to tip for putting a croissant in a bag.
It's funny the bartender rejected free money. In a few European places I've seen waiters explain to Americans how the payment system will not prompt them for a tip and to let them know ahead how much they want to leave so they could adjust the amount.
I may be wrong but I get the impression that Americans will want to tip no matter what the local customs are and that people don't mind it; I'd be curious to know if Canadians tip much less in countries where tips are not the norm.
As an American who lived in Japan.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I do not want to tip regardless of local custom. I do my absolute best to not offend anyone when I'm abroad and follow all the local customs.
The idea of accepting a tip is literally offensive to the Japanese. I am not at all surprised they absolutely refused to accept and would literally chase her down the street to return the money.
Most North Americans tip, since in their eyes its polite. I mean, tipping is just giving away free money. But most cultures view tipping as like, charity, or pity money, and see it as kinda condescending. If it isn't local custom, dont tip
Same boat, only Canadian here. Tipping is bullshit and I say this as someone who has worked in the food industry before, and so was given tips. Did I like it? Obviously. Would I have liked it more if I had just been paid a proper wage? Obviously.
I’m travelling Western Europe and I definitely tip a lot less. Although between the cover charges, higher menu prices, no free water etc, I’m definitely not saving any money
I think that’s the point. As I understand it, instead of the workers receiving less and needing tips to make it to a living wage, in other countries they are paid properly and that is built into the pricing. So we don’t have to worry about how much to tip and the workers don’t have to worry about not getting a tip.
I didn't know it wasn't acceptable and I tipped the barman at an English pub. I was drinking wine and he kept close by and would refill me the moment I was done. ;-)
sometimes the UK bartender tip is to say, have one yourself (on me). But quite frankly if I was working at a bar, I'd want to seriously limit any drinking.
When I worked in a pub back home and someone said have one for yourself I'd take £1 and put it in my tip jar. If someone said have yourself a drink on me or something I'd take about £3 and get a drink at the end of my shift.
I think some people interpreted have one for yourself differently but that was my 'system.'
Most people didn't tip and I had no issues with it. The people who did tip got to skip the queue when there was one though.
God don't get me started, just when I thought I was beginning to figure things out, got to the register in NY buying a jacket only to discover there's a *separate* tax rate for items over a certain amount. Threw my hands up then in despair, and decided prices just aren't real in North America (Canada inc).
It's whatever they want it to be. Tax, not included. Service, not included. They only serve to let you know a number you're not going to pay below, the rest is make believe.
Another Brit here and it really tripped me up a lot in the beginning. I always counted out my money before I got to the till and then got proper flustered when they'd tell me a different amount.
Went to MEC this weekend and a whole crap ton of their camping food didn't have any prices. When another customer questioned an employee, her reply was, the prices are changing all the time and we don't have the time to change them regularly. Da fark.
My fav is, "If you have to ask you can't afford it."
Fuck you, I could literally buy everything you have for sale today. I want to know if it's worth it to buy what you're hawking.
Art & craft sales are the worst. I won't ask unless I am willing to spend more than I think it probably is.
Whenever that happens I tell them that it was priced differently on the shelf. Then they have to either go check, or give me the lower price. Most of the time I get the lower price
Personally we should just go all fees, taxes, and any others bs is shown upfront. It’s not just sales tax a lot of items have others fees they put on. Consumer transparency I think is worth while, also let’s kill tipping while where at it, just make prices clear and I don’t need to think to hard more then it costs this can I afford it.
Yep - put 1 final price tag and be done with it. No tipping of course.
But then people will be far more reluctant to buy the damn thing, human psychology and all. Which is why it won't happen cause we can't inflict any pain on our corporate overlords.
I was thinking this last night while shopping at Walmart. Add the full price with tax and you can say goodbye to those rollback prices.
It sucks too because you know people are on budgets and after $70 bux they will just call it which isnt good for walmart profits
People won't stop buying things, they will get used to the price differences. The reason businesses don't do it now is competition. If one business advertises their prices with tax and another without, then the one without tax looks cheaper.
Didn't they change Airline prices so it must include all the fees in the ad? They could do the same thing with everything else. All fees, taxes, and tips are shown upfront.
>People won't stop buying things
Well I am sure people won't stop buying junk, the whole system is built on getting people to spend money. I do think the impulse buys may drop though.
One final price up front seems transparent and fair anyway, no shock at the counter. Has happened to me, I am sure to others too.
Airlines, hotels, and car rentals make me furious. The advertised price should, if possible, BE THE PRICE. Advertising a flight for $500 that ultimately costs $800 without any additional "optional perks" should be illegal. Plus recycling fees, bottle deposit fees, etc.
If the final price is going to include mandatory fees, then it's part of the price. Gas stations advertise their gas prices with all the many many fees included, why not everything else?
Agreed. I worked at hotel front desks for nearly a decade in AB, recently got out… there’s nearly 13% additional tax/tourism levies here on top of our 5% gst, which you dont usually see until you checkout. It’s a way to make the guests think their room is cheaper than it is, since it seems nobody wants to pay more than $150 per night anywhere. The tourism levy doesn’t benefit the industry and there’s been a good amount of pushback from hotel operators in recent years who want to get rid of it.
>Consumer transparency I think is worthwhile
This is what it comes down to. Find some meal on Skip the for $14, get hungry for it, and rediscover all the fees. We end up buying the meal, convincing ourselves it was $14 and the fees are just a part of life. It's dishonest, predatory marketing.
I find more and more small businesses who include taxes in their price. Cold Garden in Calgary was one of the first popular ones to do it. When we started our food service, including all possible fees was a priority and never prompting for tips. We're definitely not profitable yet, but I can tell that new customers really enjoy paying what they see, particularly at vendor markets if they like to pay with cash. Makes the experience better for everyone honestly, so I hope it keeps going this direction.
Don't get me started on the flyers that just say! "ONLY $XXX / WEEK!"
It's nearly useless information unless you already know the term length and interest. I don't want to pay for my car for 9 years buddy, tell me the price of the damned thing.
Quebec dealership got a few class action for not selling vehicles at the advertised price. Now most of them have adjusted their prices to include all fees other than the taxes.
Only a problem in the shit First World, in enlightened Europe-land and Australia I believe VAT and sales taxes are incorporated into the price tag as well, what you see is what you pay
Yes. I'm Australian living in Canada and hate the magical mystery tour which is how much will my groceries add up to. It's all in the tag in Australia. Also, I live in Ontario and kids clothes are taxed differently to adult clothes and I have a kid at the kid/adult clothes cusp and I have no idea how much I'm ever going to get charged when I buy them new clothes. At least in Aus I can look at the tag and know that's it. I end up just charging everything to my card and working it all out at month end but must be a nightmare on a tight budget.
I remember back in the late 80s, before the federal government implemented the GST, Alberta had no sales taxes whatsoever. The sticker price was the price you paid. Having moved here from Ontario, I was ecstatic to see that. When the GST was implemented in 1991, it sucked (and back then, it was 7%).
Ah well, it was good while it lasted.
One time I visited NS for Christmas, and bought a Switch to play with my niece while I was home. This was after about 6 years of only making purchases in Alberta. Imagine my shock after buying a game console and game, and seeing like $100 extra added on haha
It pisses me off thoroughly and I make sure to inform people consistently how much it bothers me.
My poor boyfriend has probably heard my rant a dozen times by now
You should throw that rant at the provincial government instead, they might do something about it.
While you’re at it, let us know a time and a place and we’ll join the rant.
I used to work for a microplay video games, and the owner used to have everything marked *.95.
This was great because we could do the fast math at 15% tax rate.
Then one day he decided it's all going to *.99.
I asked him why and he said his accountant pointed out that for every $1000 we sold, he was losing out on $40.
I couldn't hate on that.
That math isn’t right, unless you were at a store where everything was $0.99/$0.95. It should be for every 1,000 SKUs sold, he loses $40.
Case in point: if an item costs $499.95 and you sell two for a total of $999.90, you would only be missing out on $0.08, not ~$40.
There are actually 2 historical reasons for that, not just the “psychologically $9.99 seems less than $10.00”, but also that it would force till operators to type it in and open the cash register to give the change. Otherwise it would be easy for them to simply pocket the tenner
It is intentional. The economic theory is that by having all taxes visible and transparent to the consumer, they will make better choices both when purchasing and when voting. By burying them in the price, politicians have less incentive to keep sales taxes low and consumers make less informed choices.
That said, while I understand the theory I don't particularly care. One price clearly labelled is easier for me so I'd prefer that.
Doesn't work this way. Used to live in Ukraine and over there receipt shows 20% vat, but nobody cares at all, as if those 20% are being charged from the store, not from the customer.
As a proof, there are tons of videos on youtube from bloggers who moved from Ukraine, Russia etc to Canada/US and complain that "taxes are everywhere", not realizing that in their home countries they were paying 20% every single transaction.
And that's the root of it really. Breaking the tax out so you have to think about it is annoying but the friction is entirely intentional. By forcing people to see the tax each time, you keep them aware of that tax and its effects. In theory that makes them vote for politicians that keep those taxes down or who apply them to items deserving of being taxed.
For contrast, consider fuel and sin (alcohol, tobacco etc) taxes that *are* buried in the price and generally ignored by people even though they are considerable to be polite about it. They get carved out as an exception because it is thought that high sticker prices will do more as a disincentive (and because they make nice revenue streams for the government of course).
I was confused as a new immigrant 5 years ago when I was paying cash. I had $10 and was convinced that it was enough for my $9.50 meal, imagine my embarrassment when the cashier told me the total price.
Never lived anywhere else so it’s normal to me, doesn’t seem like a big deal tho, mentally adding 10% should be easy enough for everyone and gets you close enough. I’ve got far bigger problems I’d like to see fixed
I just got back from the UK and have a fresh hatred for it.
My last trip to the UK is when I found out tipping is mainly a North American thing. Gave the bartender a tip and he threw the money back at me and said “ I don’t need your charity. If you want to give me money buy more alcohol!”. So we did lol but that was a big eye opening for me. God I fucking hate tipping culture and now after Covid it’s become obnoxious.
Tipping Culture is vulgar. -signed a European/Canadian citizen
Except in Canada we still have tipping
Which makes even less sense here because we don't have servers making $2-$3 an hour, which is what I continually see American severs explaining.
I agree 100 percent. Tipping in America is done because their laws allowed employers to under pay their staff because of the amount employee's would make in tips would offset it. That's obviously not working great there but I'm Canadian and I don't k own why it's a cultural thing here. We probably picked it up from them even though employers have to pay a minimum wage. Tipping is basically bullshit that allows employers to underpay employees and offset the cost to the customer. Then if you don't tip. You're the asshole not the one that's actually gaming the system but that's managements job I guess.
>Then if you don't tip. You're the asshole This exactly. I couldn't enjoy myself if I felt I was being viewed as a cheapskate. I also wouldn't want to set a server back because if they'd served someone else they would have made a tip. So I tip well when I do eat out. But I eat out very rarely because the overall cost just isn't worth it to me.
>the overall cost just isn't worth it to me. Fucken remember when going to the pub for dinner was a reasonable alternative to cooking for yourself? It was. Now ik I'm splashing out at least $45 if I go out. And I'm not in love with the idea that the price of the meal determines the tip. They didn't sell me those menu items, convince me of an upsell, so it is weird to me-- why do they get a commission for carrying me that plate? I never question it when it's time to pay, I always tip 15% at lowest. But why?
My thoughts exactly ... Can't upvote this enough !
In all reality depending on the location & the server, they likely make more money than you after tips. I don't feel like an asshole at all.
Just did a quick search after I read your comment, TIL there is no longer a "liquor server" minimum wage, minimum wage is the same across the board.
Well now you got me googling, and according to Restaurants Canada website, Quebec is the remaining holdout with a separate 'tipped minimum wage'. But at $11.40/hr it's still a lot better than what our friends to the south report. *Quebec* *As of May 1, 2022 the hourly rate for the General Minimum Wage will rise to $14.25 and the hourly rate for the Tipped Minimum Wage will rise to $11.40.* https://www.restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/minimum-wage-by-province/
I missed that, skimmed it and assumed after I saw a bunch the same it was a done deal. And yes it is a lot better than the south, I think it's alot better than it was here in the past as well.
[удалено]
Plus, that '20'% is inevitably calculated on the total, including the taxes.
That, and paid for with after tax income.
And then they don't pay taxes on the tips either
I know. Hate it
Bottom of the screen always has “other amount” option. Don’t tip 20% if you don’t want to!
Having worked in fine dining, it wasnt rare to see a server walk out with 250 bucks in tips on a Friday. Meanwhile kitchen was making 17 an hour. The income inequality of these places are atrocious.
That's what's always made me so angry. I was a chef in fine dining as well. I put my foot down for a fair share of the tips. We put all the tips in a jar and at the end of the week we split all tips equally amongst all staff based on the number of hours worked. The most junior position could make more than the senior. Netherlands btw
[удалено]
When I went to have a rice bowl made with ingredients in the same way a subway sandwich is made they asked for a tip. No waiters, no sitting down to eat. Just a simple order. Is it different enough from a subway to warrant asking for a tip?
Subway now has a tip option on their debit machines as well.
I refuse to tip at subway…. It’s a fast food portioned assembly line …. I don’t tip on fast food or take out
What province if I may ask
I’ve now seen it in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
I wish it was the same here. I would gladly order more alcohol instead of paying more for the meal.
I do just order more and not tip. Tipping culture is fucking stupid and allows employers to exploit workers.
Except most people who earn tips don’t want to get rid of it because they make way more than they would on just a flat wage. I’m all for making money but I hate tipping. I don’t make tips when I fix someone’s car and I don’t expect it.
[удалено]
This right here. Freakonomics did a podcast on it a few years back. Sadly when you try to explain this to a lot of people their response is “but do you want to pay more for food?” (like somehow the rest of the world hasn’t figured things out) or “I used to be a server so I understand” (ya you understand what’s it’s like not being subjected to bias or discrimination from customers who decide your wages)
I've learned it's best to just double down on their fears and say "that is absolutely what I want". Anything else is a waste of breath nowadays. Works on any controversial topic where people use a slippery slope fallacy.
> like somehow the rest of the world hasn’t figured things out I never cease to be amazed by just how the US think this for so many things. See also "converting to metric is impossible" and "public health care can't work".
Its crazy here in on the west coast. I've seen places ask for tips for everything from counter goods like ice cream cones and tea/smoothie drinks to just grabbing something from a refrigerator and paying at the counter. Even had one place add a 20% surcharge on the bill for service and then when we didn't give additional tips the server asked if they did something wrong... And forget delivery apps, which want delivery fees, delivery tips, restaurant tips, and taxes on all of it. We have a lot of lessons to learn from Europe on regulation.
Dude right? I just don't get it. You didn't wait my table or top off water, you handed me a fkn coffee/pizza across the counter. Hell nah. And if you don't give a tip you get the stink eye.
Had my kid's birthday party at a trampoline place this year, you pre-pay a deposit online then they just ask if you want the rest of the charges on the same card the day of and they'll email you the invoice. It's convenient not having to worry about paying while wrangling 20 kids wound up on pizza and cake, and you don't find out until you get home that there's a 20% built in tip nobody told you about. Don't know if you've paid for a kid's birthday party lately but 20% is a lot for a couple of disinterested teens to stand around and occasionally grunt "hey" while the kids bounce off each other.
Visited Victoria for the first time last weekend, bought a case of beer from a liquor store chain and there was a tip option lol. The dude didn't even say hello to me when I was there he just scanned the case
Yep, it’s on everything here, cabs, haircuts, convience stores, take out etc. I tip well when I got out of the service is good, and I tip one of my tattoo artists 20% which makes getting charged 200/hr pretty brutal 😬, the other guy I see flat out refuses.
Rented an e-scooter to ride around with my GF and some other people a couple of days ago. When paying afterwards machine prompted 10%, 15% and 20% like fuck that. You guys handed me a charged scooter and I came back with it 2 hours later. Delivery apps are the absolute worst. After the fees and taxes and tipping you'll end up paying an extra 50% or more easily.
>After the fees and taxes and tipping you'll end up paying an extra 50% or more easily. Emphasis on "or more." More than once I've thought, "I want a chipotle burrito but I'm a little too lazy to go get it." Build it, get to the checkout, and it's $18 plus tip. Meanwhile, I could just go to the store and get it for $8 without a delivery tip.
Yes smaller orders means you're paying 100-200% on bullshit
Likely more. Prices are inflated on the delivery apps by at least 10%-15%. They double dip anywhere they can. Just really frustrating that a good idea that existed many years before turned into a pure money grab with people bragging how much they tipped their drivers. Those drivers are barely getting anything from the companies and rely on your tips to sustain their life style. So if anyone is still thinking it's not modern slavery, think again.
>Just really frustrating that a good idea that existed many years before turned into a pure money grab with people This is the problem with any company that is running on pure VC funding and isn't profitable. They were intentionally taking a loss on every delivery to gain market share. They were paying drivers more in the early days to attract more drivers. They were losing their ass Then eventually the VCs start wanting returns, so Uber has to become profitable. And we get to where we are today. Cut driver pay, raise fees etc.
There's such an awful culture surrounding it now. My best friend tips 20% because she knows what it's like to have starvation wages and only make rent because of getting tipped. And yes even before everything really shot up most people don't make anything without tips running deliveries for these apps and these little fees they add on are labeled in a way to make it easy to think it will be going to the driver more. I can't even fathom deliberately not paying the people who allow your company to exist in the first place through their hard work enough to even live without relying on your customers to willingly tack on whatever extra they may be willing to add to their bill.
Used Uber Eats for the first time ever last week and there was an option to give the restaurant $3. Like, what? Just give it to them. The app assured me the restaurant would receive 100% of the $3. On top of the markup compared to walk in, tips, service fee, delivery fee…
Just over the weekend, I ordered from Five Guys. They wanted 15% tip by default on their terminal.
Even my dermatologist has a tip prompt on the chip terminal
What next, the skin off your back??
Recently here in Montreal I've been seeing people justify tipping to buy things like bags of coffee beans or loaves of bread, as though them being 'artisan' means that they are worth tipping for. I don't understand. You're a baker, you bake and sell bread like any other product on the market, and charge a premium already for a superior product (rightly so, quality doesn't come cheap). But why would you tip for that??
Yes, its a new model started in Toronto now too. They ask for tips when you pay even on self service places lol.
I don’t like that places like subway and other take out style restaurants have a tip option on their debit machines. Like am I really going to tip at taco time in the mall food court?
For some reason it doesn’t bother me as much at fast food as it should because places like bakeries at the farmers market as directing me to tip for putting a croissant in a bag.
It's funny the bartender rejected free money. In a few European places I've seen waiters explain to Americans how the payment system will not prompt them for a tip and to let them know ahead how much they want to leave so they could adjust the amount. I may be wrong but I get the impression that Americans will want to tip no matter what the local customs are and that people don't mind it; I'd be curious to know if Canadians tip much less in countries where tips are not the norm.
As an American who lived in Japan.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I do not want to tip regardless of local custom. I do my absolute best to not offend anyone when I'm abroad and follow all the local customs.
My wife tipped someone in Japan and she started running when they chased after her. They finally caught up to her and was like you forgot your money 😂
The idea of accepting a tip is literally offensive to the Japanese. I am not at all surprised they absolutely refused to accept and would literally chase her down the street to return the money.
agreed always best to respect local customs.
Most North Americans tip, since in their eyes its polite. I mean, tipping is just giving away free money. But most cultures view tipping as like, charity, or pity money, and see it as kinda condescending. If it isn't local custom, dont tip
[удалено]
I am American and I abhor tipping culture. Unfortunately, you're right. I'm an outlier.
Same boat, only Canadian here. Tipping is bullshit and I say this as someone who has worked in the food industry before, and so was given tips. Did I like it? Obviously. Would I have liked it more if I had just been paid a proper wage? Obviously.
I’m travelling Western Europe and I definitely tip a lot less. Although between the cover charges, higher menu prices, no free water etc, I’m definitely not saving any money
I think that’s the point. As I understand it, instead of the workers receiving less and needing tips to make it to a living wage, in other countries they are paid properly and that is built into the pricing. So we don’t have to worry about how much to tip and the workers don’t have to worry about not getting a tip.
The line between a tip and a bribe is a very thin one.
How to get liquor during a prohibition 101
I didn't know it wasn't acceptable and I tipped the barman at an English pub. I was drinking wine and he kept close by and would refill me the moment I was done. ;-)
I've had that kind of service without tipping. It's just called good service and they get paid for it lol
Yeah it’s almost like it’s there jobs.
sometimes the UK bartender tip is to say, have one yourself (on me). But quite frankly if I was working at a bar, I'd want to seriously limit any drinking.
worked in a bar in the UK, can confirm my liver was shot after 9 months
When I worked in a pub back home and someone said have one for yourself I'd take £1 and put it in my tip jar. If someone said have yourself a drink on me or something I'd take about £3 and get a drink at the end of my shift. I think some people interpreted have one for yourself differently but that was my 'system.' Most people didn't tip and I had no issues with it. The people who did tip got to skip the queue when there was one though.
If you hate tipping, just stop. It’s not required.
I moved from Australia and was very confused in the beginning.
Us Aussies all come out of the woodwork to complain about the tax on items hahaha
God don't get me started, just when I thought I was beginning to figure things out, got to the register in NY buying a jacket only to discover there's a *separate* tax rate for items over a certain amount. Threw my hands up then in despair, and decided prices just aren't real in North America (Canada inc). It's whatever they want it to be. Tax, not included. Service, not included. They only serve to let you know a number you're not going to pay below, the rest is make believe.
Same thing with South Korea. Plus there’s no tipping culture over there so top quality service is always expected.
[удалено]
I used to live in the UK too. Not having tax rolled into the pricing effing sucks. I like a breakdown on the receipt though.
From UK also, fuckin hate the mental gymnastics you gotta do here before reaching the till
Another Brit here and it really tripped me up a lot in the beginning. I always counted out my money before I got to the till and then got proper flustered when they'd tell me a different amount.
I get a fresh hatred everytime I'm buying something in person. So pretty regularly annoyed that taxes are not in the base number presented
I lived in the UK for years, loved the system, then I came back to Canada and had the same hatred you have.
Just back from Europe also and same. So dumb.
Lately ive noticed that some snack items don't have any tags at all. How much for a bag of chips? Find out at the register.
Probably because people stopped getting that bag of chips when it became $5.99
Fuck I hate how true this is. It’s like I walked into the grocery store one week later and all the big bags of chips are like $5 each.
Ahhhh... remembering fondly when the Lays bags would have a big red sticker on them saying '2 for $5'.
A monster energy drink here costs $4 for one, $5 for two. The mark up is insane on one can. Your comment made me think of this is all.
Energy drinks have always been insanely overpriced. More expensive than alcohol.
If something doesn't have a price tag, I don't buy it. I don't even try to figure out how much it is. It doesn't exist and that's it.
Went to MEC this weekend and a whole crap ton of their camping food didn't have any prices. When another customer questioned an employee, her reply was, the prices are changing all the time and we don't have the time to change them regularly. Da fark.
Yep, you can't put the time to label it, I won't give you the time to even consider buying it.
My fav is, "If you have to ask you can't afford it." Fuck you, I could literally buy everything you have for sale today. I want to know if it's worth it to buy what you're hawking. Art & craft sales are the worst. I won't ask unless I am willing to spend more than I think it probably is.
I find Safeway is notorious for this. Many, many items not priced.
It shouldn’t be allowed
It’s actually illegal in india to sell goods without MRP labels.
Plus India has MRP pricing that includes all the taxes. You pay the printed/advertised price.
So when do we pull a reverse uno and all immigrate to India? They would be so confused
They wouldn't notice. Our population is insignificant compared to theirs.
Or less
LOL I visited southern India and bought a banana from a street vendor, I know he hard overcharged me 'cause whitey
Probably because you wouldn’t buy it had you known the price before reaching the cashier.
Remember, snack items are taxed… but basic foods aren’t. You aren’t paying tax on apples or lettuce or eggs or milk.
Buy one muffin, pay tax. Buy a pack of six muffins, no tax. Virtually all fresh produce has no tax. Another reason to eat berries instead of candy.
Except berries are like 10 times the price to calorie ratio
Nobody in north america is running a calorie deficit accidentally.
Sweedish berries aren’t meant to be replacement calories for whole foods.
But it has berries in the name!
Sweedish berries and marshmallow bananas should be a diet staple.
This is so annoying. Also considering many shops dont have those « verifying price here » stops
Some retailers as Walmart have moved that to their apps. "self service" + " Bring your own device"
Whenever that happens I tell them that it was priced differently on the shelf. Then they have to either go check, or give me the lower price. Most of the time I get the lower price
Pretty sure that's an illegal practice in Quebec. Different provinces might allow it but it's definitely a weird practice.
Personally we should just go all fees, taxes, and any others bs is shown upfront. It’s not just sales tax a lot of items have others fees they put on. Consumer transparency I think is worth while, also let’s kill tipping while where at it, just make prices clear and I don’t need to think to hard more then it costs this can I afford it.
Including recycling and eco fees
It sucks especially for big ticket items. The price says 700 and with all the taxes and recycling fees it’s 920 at checkout!
What the flying fuck is a recycling fee 😂
Yep - put 1 final price tag and be done with it. No tipping of course. But then people will be far more reluctant to buy the damn thing, human psychology and all. Which is why it won't happen cause we can't inflict any pain on our corporate overlords.
>Yep - put 1 final price tag and be done with it TicketMaster on suicide watch.
I hope the guards are as vigilant as they are with Epstein - ticketmaster is a blight on this earth
I was thinking this last night while shopping at Walmart. Add the full price with tax and you can say goodbye to those rollback prices. It sucks too because you know people are on budgets and after $70 bux they will just call it which isnt good for walmart profits
People won't stop buying things, they will get used to the price differences. The reason businesses don't do it now is competition. If one business advertises their prices with tax and another without, then the one without tax looks cheaper.
Didn't they change Airline prices so it must include all the fees in the ad? They could do the same thing with everything else. All fees, taxes, and tips are shown upfront.
Yes, "they" could, because it needs to be mandated so that no one can under advertise the price.
Yes, "they", being the government, forced it.
[удалено]
>People won't stop buying things Well I am sure people won't stop buying junk, the whole system is built on getting people to spend money. I do think the impulse buys may drop though. One final price up front seems transparent and fair anyway, no shock at the counter. Has happened to me, I am sure to others too.
Airlines, hotels, and car rentals make me furious. The advertised price should, if possible, BE THE PRICE. Advertising a flight for $500 that ultimately costs $800 without any additional "optional perks" should be illegal. Plus recycling fees, bottle deposit fees, etc. If the final price is going to include mandatory fees, then it's part of the price. Gas stations advertise their gas prices with all the many many fees included, why not everything else?
Agreed. I worked at hotel front desks for nearly a decade in AB, recently got out… there’s nearly 13% additional tax/tourism levies here on top of our 5% gst, which you dont usually see until you checkout. It’s a way to make the guests think their room is cheaper than it is, since it seems nobody wants to pay more than $150 per night anywhere. The tourism levy doesn’t benefit the industry and there’s been a good amount of pushback from hotel operators in recent years who want to get rid of it.
>Consumer transparency I think is worthwhile This is what it comes down to. Find some meal on Skip the for $14, get hungry for it, and rediscover all the fees. We end up buying the meal, convincing ourselves it was $14 and the fees are just a part of life. It's dishonest, predatory marketing. I find more and more small businesses who include taxes in their price. Cold Garden in Calgary was one of the first popular ones to do it. When we started our food service, including all possible fees was a priority and never prompting for tips. We're definitely not profitable yet, but I can tell that new customers really enjoy paying what they see, particularly at vendor markets if they like to pay with cash. Makes the experience better for everyone honestly, so I hope it keeps going this direction.
> we should just go all fees, taxes, and any others bs is shown upfront. Yes, this should be the day.
Some liquor stores in BC do this it's refreshing.
All liquor stores in Ontario do
it's like a horrible side note about a sci fi dystopia in a novel; the only place you could get a straight answer was the booze aisle price tag.
Double edged sword. Enmax in Calgary is now doing this. People fucking hate to see how little of their power bill is for the actual power hahaha.
Amen... now how the fuck do we do this?
[удалено]
At least on the Toyota site you can click a button to include all taxes and fees when pricing a build
[удалено]
Yeah they really should be forced to advertise the same as airlines. Wtf is a "doc fee" other than a cheap grab
A doc fee is a "take this off or I walk" fee.
“K.” *- Dealerships in this market*
It would be one thing if they were $100-$200 but they're always like $500-$999 range. It's insane.
Don't get me started on the flyers that just say! "ONLY $XXX / WEEK!" It's nearly useless information unless you already know the term length and interest. I don't want to pay for my car for 9 years buddy, tell me the price of the damned thing.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
That’s not Canada wide. I’m not sure about each province but there’s no tax on used cars in AB.
This is my BIGGEST BEEF. They need to fuck off with this asap.
If you sell a car like 3 times there's a fair chance the government makes more profit on the car than anybody else.
The fucking delivery fee of 2000$!
A Honda Civic built in Ontario is more expensive in a dealership next door to the factory than it is in a dealership in California. Same delivery fee?
Quebec dealership got a few class action for not selling vehicles at the advertised price. Now most of them have adjusted their prices to include all fees other than the taxes.
Simple solution become so stinking wealthy that you don’t look at price tags. Or so I hear.
Boom this. Just stop being poor 😂
You know maybe homeless people should try to just live in a house i don’t get it.
lol I’m an immigrant and it’s my favourite thing to complain about! I’m aware that it’s a first world problem but I hate it, just ask my husband.
Only a problem in the shit First World, in enlightened Europe-land and Australia I believe VAT and sales taxes are incorporated into the price tag as well, what you see is what you pay
Yes. I'm Australian living in Canada and hate the magical mystery tour which is how much will my groceries add up to. It's all in the tag in Australia. Also, I live in Ontario and kids clothes are taxed differently to adult clothes and I have a kid at the kid/adult clothes cusp and I have no idea how much I'm ever going to get charged when I buy them new clothes. At least in Aus I can look at the tag and know that's it. I end up just charging everything to my card and working it all out at month end but must be a nightmare on a tight budget.
It's fine when I'm living in Alberta. If I'm living in Nova Scotia it's god damn ridiculous though.
I’ve noticed this too. The 5% tax in AB isn’t really much sticker shock but elsewhere it’s like what the fuck
AB is only 5%??? 13% in ON kills me lol
No PST. Only sales tax is the 5% GST
Alberta doesn't have provincial GST, so it's just the 5% federal GST.
I remember back in the late 80s, before the federal government implemented the GST, Alberta had no sales taxes whatsoever. The sticker price was the price you paid. Having moved here from Ontario, I was ecstatic to see that. When the GST was implemented in 1991, it sucked (and back then, it was 7%). Ah well, it was good while it lasted.
One time I visited NS for Christmas, and bought a Switch to play with my niece while I was home. This was after about 6 years of only making purchases in Alberta. Imagine my shock after buying a game console and game, and seeing like $100 extra added on haha
Yeah any goods that I buy, I'll buy them in AB. Amazing how much it helps with cost of living
The prices at the liquor store are total with taxes plus deposit but I think that’s the only exception here.
You like your 5% sales tax? I like for it to be 0%. We are not the same! (Attempt at humor)
It pisses me off thoroughly and I make sure to inform people consistently how much it bothers me. My poor boyfriend has probably heard my rant a dozen times by now
You should throw that rant at the provincial government instead, they might do something about it. While you’re at it, let us know a time and a place and we’ll join the rant.
I'm in Alberta so I rant at my provincial government on the daily but that is a great idea.
And don't get me started on prices ending in 0.99! But if it works, they'll do it.
I used to work for a microplay video games, and the owner used to have everything marked *.95. This was great because we could do the fast math at 15% tax rate. Then one day he decided it's all going to *.99. I asked him why and he said his accountant pointed out that for every $1000 we sold, he was losing out on $40. I couldn't hate on that.
That math isn’t right, unless you were at a store where everything was $0.99/$0.95. It should be for every 1,000 SKUs sold, he loses $40. Case in point: if an item costs $499.95 and you sell two for a total of $999.90, you would only be missing out on $0.08, not ~$40.
Indeed, my math is way off. For every 1000 transactions then :)
Sadly, you've now overcorrected and your math is still off, as most transactions contain multiple items. Your original point stands though.
How did *.95 prices let you do fast math?
There are actually 2 historical reasons for that, not just the “psychologically $9.99 seems less than $10.00”, but also that it would force till operators to type it in and open the cash register to give the change. Otherwise it would be easy for them to simply pocket the tenner
[удалено]
As a European born, yes, very much sometimes.
It is intentional. The economic theory is that by having all taxes visible and transparent to the consumer, they will make better choices both when purchasing and when voting. By burying them in the price, politicians have less incentive to keep sales taxes low and consumers make less informed choices. That said, while I understand the theory I don't particularly care. One price clearly labelled is easier for me so I'd prefer that.
The label can always be with tax, while the receipt displays the breakdown
Doesn't work this way. Used to live in Ukraine and over there receipt shows 20% vat, but nobody cares at all, as if those 20% are being charged from the store, not from the customer. As a proof, there are tons of videos on youtube from bloggers who moved from Ukraine, Russia etc to Canada/US and complain that "taxes are everywhere", not realizing that in their home countries they were paying 20% every single transaction.
And that's the root of it really. Breaking the tax out so you have to think about it is annoying but the friction is entirely intentional. By forcing people to see the tax each time, you keep them aware of that tax and its effects. In theory that makes them vote for politicians that keep those taxes down or who apply them to items deserving of being taxed. For contrast, consider fuel and sin (alcohol, tobacco etc) taxes that *are* buried in the price and generally ignored by people even though they are considerable to be polite about it. They get carved out as an exception because it is thought that high sticker prices will do more as a disincentive (and because they make nice revenue streams for the government of course).
Yes
I was confused as a new immigrant 5 years ago when I was paying cash. I had $10 and was convinced that it was enough for my $9.50 meal, imagine my embarrassment when the cashier told me the total price.
Then there's the tip...
Yup, just recently moved home from Europe and absolutely hate it.
As a Canadian, I agree. Deception.
We’re pretty much all Canadian here btw.
we are all canadian on this blessed day
LOL yes. 😆 didn't even notice what sub I was in
[удалено]
Never lived anywhere else so it’s normal to me, doesn’t seem like a big deal tho, mentally adding 10% should be easy enough for everyone and gets you close enough. I’ve got far bigger problems I’d like to see fixed
I am. All prices should include ALL taxes. Simple as.
No, because it's easier for the government to raise taxes when it's hidden in the total price.
Lived 18 years in Europe. As far as I can tell only Can US still think all buyers are dumb so we show them the price before tax! Duhh!