At the end of a special dinner out, you’ve had a pleasant time, with good food and company – and maybe even some pinot noir. You ask for the bill from your server, who delivers it and then passes you the credit-card machine.
The options for a gratuity are 18, 20 or 25 per cent. But do you know how much you are actually tipping?
Quebec is moving to ensure that consumers in that province have a clear answer with Bill 72 – a law meant to improve transparency on pricing for consumers. Normally, the minutiae of social norms shouldn’t be a concern for governments. But Quebec’s legislation is a solid middle course for addressing both current gaps in consumer information and tipping fatigue.
In legislation tabled last month, Quebec would force businesses to calculate suggested tips based on the cost before tax. A $200 restaurant bill in Quebec would have suggested tips calculated as a percentage of that price, not the after-tax total of $229.75. A 25-per-cent tip calculated on the pre-tax number would be $50. On the second number, it’s $57.49.
The difference is certainly not enough to break the bank, but it is still significant. Quebec’s legislation, as politicians there have argued, is meant to ensure people aren’t paying more than they intend.
Similar legislation to better protect consumers should be contemplated by other provinces. In the past four years, tip culture has spread to potentially every place you (stand to) get service. North Americans started tipping for takeout food during the pandemic, in a move to help restaurants stay afloat. Now that idea is entrenched, and consumers are getting the tip prompt for everything from buying food at a farmers’ market to home repairs.
The cost of a restaurant meal isn’t as obvious as it was even a decade ago, when more people paid with cash and there was more often a lag time between a server bringing a bill and the actual settling-up.
Now, most Canadians pay their restaurant bills with a credit card, so a few dollars difference isn’t as noticeable. And the payment timeline is shorter – you’re often presented with a machine for payment at the same moment as the bill, with little time to do your own calculation.
It used to be a given that a gratuity should be based on the pre-tax figure, as that is the cost of the actual service provided. But people are now handed credit-card machines with percentage options of up to 30 per cent with no clarity as to whether it’s calculated before or after taxes.
The Coalition Avenir Québec inclination that this should change is the correct one. It isn’t about shortchanging servers who depend on gratuities. It’s about the customer knowing exactly what they’re paying.
The Quebec legislation will make it easier for consumers to compare prices, a particularly useful move at a time when Canadians have been hit by 10 years’ worth of inflation in a short period of time. Statistics Canada said grocery prices rose 21.6 per cent between February, 2021, and February, 2024.
The legislation also contains measures to get tougher on grocers for incorrect pricing, would require food stores to clearly indicate whether taxes will be applied to food items, and would force grocery stores to make sure similar products from different brands use the same units of measurement.
Price transparency will help customers make comparisons – and get away from both algorithms and deceptive signage. It’s much less heavy-handed than implementing price caps or controls, as the federal NDP is advocating.
Consumer protection laws in Canada are enforced by both the provincial governments and Ottawa. Another heartening development is Cineplex Inc. being charged a record $38.9-million fine last month for drip pricing, a practice where customers are drawn into a purchase without full disclosure of the final cost. The federal Competition Bureau’s case against Cineplex related to a $1.50 charge – not presented up front – when purchasing movie tickets online.
Now for governments, consumer groups and the media to go after other vendors, including airlines and concert ticket sellers, that try to hide fees or surcharges.
Quebec’s legislation isn’t going to roll back years of high inflation, and it won’t get rid of the unease many feel when asked for a gratuity while grabbing six bagels at a local bakery. But it will lead to more clarity in pricing – the very least Canadians deserve.