We went out for dinner back on December 31st, New Year’s Eve.  The servers at the restaurant were busy, very busy.  I had a view of the door and there was a steady stream of customers coming and going.   I figured it must be a good place to work because there seemed to be enough staff to handle all the business.  We were certainly looked after very well and, when that happens, I leave a generous tip.  I was reading an article full of predictions for 2023 in Canada and one item’s headline was, “Tipping Will Become a Thing of the Past”.    I thought, wow, that’s a rather bold and radical prediction.  The piece went on to say that, with food services continuing to bear the brunt of the labour shortage, restaurants are hoping to attract talent by doing away with tipping.  The article focused on a few eateries in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa which, they say, have eliminated gratuities over the past year and apparently more restaurants are following their lead.  They say they offer staff higher starting wages, good health benefits, and paid time off.  I don’t know if this trend is going to catch on right across the country as this one article said in MacLeans “year ahead predictions”.  There are dozens of restaurants in a city like Saskatoon alone and independent restauranteurs will run their own operations as they see fit.   Time will tell if tipping becomes a thing of the past.  In the meantime we’ll continue to tip, tip, tip away. 

That’s Coffeetalk.  I’m Vic Dubois.