A TikToker Slammed Canada's Tipping Culture & Said It's 'A Masterclass In Gaslighting'

Tipping in Canada remains a much-debated topic, with everyone from etiquette experts to ChatGPT weighing in on exactly how much to tip.

Over on TikTok, the conversation about Canada's tipping culture is getting juicy, with one TikToker even describing it as a "masterclass in gaslighting."

Morten Rand-Hendriksen — @mor10web on TikTok — recently shared a video of himself discussing tipping etiquette in Canada.

"If you go to any food establishment in Canada to either dine in, take out or get delivery, you're expected to tip somewhere between 18% and 20%," he says, noting that many employees rely on tips to earn a living wage.

Describing this alone as "just crazy," he goes on to ask, "Why aren't they just paid a living wage to begin with?"

And, if you ask waitstaff if they get to keep the full tip, the answer is often no, according to Rand-Hendriksen.

"The tip goes into a pool and is shared with the other people who work at the restaurant [...] because they also rely on your tips for a living wage."

As the TikToker points out, this causes "all sorts of bizarre situations," including employees trying to get specific shifts so that they have the best chance of getting good tips.

Rand-Hendriksen goes on to emphasize that the real problem is that many Canadians are not being paid a living wage.

"If you're running a business that's only successful as long as you underpay your workers, then your business is subsidized by your employees… that is borderline worker exploitation," he says.

"But this problem is far bigger than that."

He then points out how business owners say they can't pay their employees more because they'd have to increase prices, which customers "don't like."

However, many customers would rather see the prices go up than pay a mandatory 20% tip, he suggests.

Moreover, according to him, politicians don't legislate this because "they say the business owners don't want it."

And, if you ask waitstaff about it, they say that tipping is an incentive to do better work, which isn't the case if all customers are expected to pay an extra 18% to 20%, he adds.

"So everyone is gaslighting everyone else here."

"No one wants this tipping culture. And everyone thinks everyone else is to blame for it," he concludes.

The post has amassed over 700 comments so far, with many agreeing that the tipping culture in Canada is out of control.

"The service industry is straight up unhinged in Canada these days. I don't even go out to eat anymore," one person said.

"Good 10%, great 15%, amazing 20%. Top tier gaslighting," another added.

"With food prices more than doubling, 20% be hitting different these days," somebody else noted.

"No sane person tips 20% in Canada. Servers are already getting $15-18/hr. Even 15% is a very generous tip."

However, not everyone agrees with Rand-Hendriksen's point. One Narcity writer recently listed out reasons why everyone should tip in Canada — even if the service isn't perfect.

Narcity also asked ChatGPT exactly how much to tip in Canada, and it suggested a breakdown according to province.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.