Canadians find tip requests inappropriate for retail purchases, take-out food orders: Poll

We’ve all been there. You make a purchase at a store or pop into a restaurant to grab your take-out order and you’re suddenly presented with a device asking how much you’d like to tip.

Tipping has long been an acceptable part of the service industry, but according to a new poll, Canadians don’t think requests for gratuities are acceptable in situations where very little has been done to earn the extra cash.

The poll, released on Tuesday by Narrative Research, makes it clear that Canadians still take a fairly traditional approach to tipping, finding it a no-brainer at places like sit-down restaurants and salons, but an intrusive and annoying request at places like retail stores, where just seven per cent find it an appropriate request.

Also high on the list of spots where Canadians don’t find tipping requests acceptable are take-out restaurants (19 per cent approval), grocery pickup (20 per cent) and fast food restaurants (21 per cent).

Canadians are also fairly cool with tipping for hotel housekeeping (49 per cent) and taxis (48 per cent).

For ride-share apps, however, just 39 per cent approve of tipping.

When it comes to how much extra Canadians are willing to dole out, location once again plays a key role.

The poll found that one in four Canadians (24 per cent) are willing to tip 18 per cent or more at a restaurant compared to one in five (19 per cent) willing to tip that much at a salon/barber.

“A 15 per cent tip is more common at restaurants than a salon/barber (53 per cent vs 45 per cent),” the poll found. “Salon and barbershop staff are more likely to receive lower tips, with 23 per cent of Canadians saying they would tip 5 per cent or not tip at all (13 per cent) compared to a restaurant where just 17 per cent would tip 5 per cent and just 6 per cent would not tip at all.”