A Couple Who Moved To Canada Are Fighting Over Tipping Culture & People Are Picking Sides

Someone turned to Reddit to help settle an argument with their girlfriend and was probably surprised when a lot of people sided with her.

The Reddit user said that they moved to Canada with their girlfriend, and the tipping culture in their new home was creating a "rift" between them.

Honestly, other people in Canada can likely relate. When it comes to tipping, opinions vary a lot.

The pair moved to Vancouver last December from somewhere that "tipping isn't a commonly accepted social custom," the original poster said.

"As I understand it, waiters who work in restaurants in Canada are only paid minimum wage and have to augment their income with tips. While I don't really agree with this subsidizing of wages to customers, I am resigned to tipping at least 12% of the food price," the Redditor said.

"My GF, meanwhile, is completely against tipping. She is of the opinion that we have no obligation to tip, as long as we have paid the food price and the accompanying taxes,' they added.

While the poster is on the side of tipping because it's an "established social custom in Canada," the girlfriend is of the opinion that "it is the employer's responsibility to pay the waiters living wage, not us."

The result? An argument that apparently put them both in bad moods for days.

The poster said that they don't want tipping to get in the way of their relationship anymore, so asked people on Reddit how to convince her to give in and tip.

The answer likely wasn't what they were expecting though.

A ton of people sided with the girlfriend

Many Canadians may be accustomed to tipping, but that doesn't mean they're here for it.

"Personally, I agree with your girlfriend and the tipping custom was adopted by our neighbouring country, the US. They often have $2-3 minimum wage in many states, and business owners often use this to subsidize costs in food so the expectation is on customers to pay the difference in wages. It's not the same here but we like to think it is," one Reddit user said.

Others took issue with the amount you are encouraged to tip in Canada.

People were pretty blunt with the poster!

With the post gaining over 900 comments — many agreed with the girlfriend.

And some called them out — hard.

There was some relationship advice

While the debate in the comments was largely about tipping culture itself, some people had helpful suggestions for the couple.

Compromise is key!

Others took the Original Poster's side

It wasn't all #TeamGF. Some people were pro-tipping, especially in an expensive city like Vancouver — where the living wage is $24.08 for a family.

One former server took to the thread to explain some of the behind-the-scenes.

"Something that most people don't know is that the server does not usually keep the whole tip for themselves. You usually have to 'tip out' the house as well," the Reddit user said.

"Where I used to work, I'd have to give 7% back, which would go to cooks, bussers, food runners and bartenders. That 7% is coming out of the bill with or without a tip," they added.

Hopefully, the couple has worked things out! This Reddit thread probably wasn't much help to them though.