"In the U.K., the most we will ever tip a server is 10%," said the person who runs the account @explorecanadawithme.
"It's very, very rare that anybody would go above 10%, and we would never tip for a coffee, even if we're sitting down in a coffee shop. Not a thing to tip for coffee. Just not a thing."
She then explained the awkward situation that many people face.
"You wouldn't even be asked if you wanted to tip. The machine wouldn't even ask you. Whereas in Canada, you do, and you feel like an awful person if you don't tip even though you're just getting a coffee."
Although she's aware it's part of the culture, she notes she still has a hard time with it.
"I'm still getting used to the tipping situation out here. Like a lot of the restaurants I've been to will give me the 18%, 20%, and 22% tip amount and that just sounds like a lot to me on top of the meal I've already paid for."
@explorecanadawithmeReply to @flimflambam #tipping #tips #tippingservers #canada_life🇨🇦 #canadatiktok #canada🇨🇦 #canadalife #canadatiktok🇨🇦 #canadabelike #vancouverbc #vancouver #move2canada #moving2canada #tipscanada
She made another video on the subject with the caption, "The tipping culture hurts the Brit in me."
"When all I wanted was a takeaway coffee and the machine is asking me if I want to tip 20%," says the text on the screen.
"That's a great question, let me think how I want to answer this," says the audio, before another voice says, "It's yes or no."
@explorecanadawithmeThe tipping culture hurts the Brit in me #vancouver #canada_life🇨🇦 #canadatiktok #canada🇨🇦 #canadabelike #canada #britsincanada #move2canada
Fellow Brit Kate Johnson, who goes by @thenewcomercollective, also shared her confusion about the situation.
As well as experiencing culture shock when she learned that you can use the patio as a fridge in the winter, she also shared a moment while dining out.
"About to leave a restaurant and learning tipping 10-20% is standard," the text on the video says while she makes a shocked-looking face.
@thenewcomercollective#cultureshock after I moved from UK to Canada 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 Pt. 4 #moveabroad #newtocanada #greenscreen
On the other side of the situation, a Canadian in Australia shared "the joy of not having to do math after every meal."
After taking his phone out to calculate tax and tip, @paul_ferrante was told he overpaid.
"Oh ya, so we include tax in the bill and you don't tip," the host explained.
@paul_ferranteThe joy of not having to do math after every meal #australia #travel #cultureshock #canadian
And @camiliarodriguez has experienced both sides of the tipping situation.
"One of the biggest culture shocks I experienced when I lived in Europe was the lack of tipping culture," she explained.
"And now, being a tour guide based in Vancouver, I'm actually meeting a lot of Europeans, I'm taking them on various tours, and I kind of find myself having to explain this tipping culture over and over again because I care about our company and I don't want restaurants or people who receive our guests to feel like we're a*sholes."
@camiliarodriguezWhere are you from and is there a tipping culture there? #tippingculture #tipping #northamerica #europe #culturaldifferences #travel #traveladdict #travelobsessed #SlurpeeRun #canadatour #tourguide #tourguidetraining #canadatour #canadian #visitcanada #visitvancouver #vancouverislandbc #serverlife #serviceindustry
As someone who has worked in many restaurants, she explained why tipping is important.
"As a server, you have to tip out on your sales to the kitchen, to the bar, expo, to hosts," she shared. "How much you tip out is different based from restaurant to restaurant, but at the restaurant I'm working at right now, I tip out 7%."
What that means is that however much your bill is as a customer, the server has to fork up 7% of that to other staff.
"So if you give me 0% tip, it's actually costing me 7% of your bill to have served you," she explained. "And this is why it's important to tip. And it can be hard to explain sometimes because I know people are from countries where tipping is not a thing."
The more you know!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
