No-tip café in Saskatoon challenges gratuity norms

At one Saskatoon café, the option to tip is off the table.

Out of Order Coffee describes itself as a “living wage” business. It has a no-tip policy, and says it pays staff wages that don’t depend on gratuities.

It’s something that customer Annette Stebner enjoys. 

“Knowing that the … employees are being cared for makes us want to return over and over again,” she said, while enjoying one of the cafe’s drinks.   

“We appreciated not having the pressure of having to decide at that moment when you’re making your first order, whether you felt that it was going to be a good experience,” Stebner said. 

She said tipping culture has changed to being compulsory, regardless of “whether you feel you’ve had good service or not.”

Out of Order Coffee co-owner Matthew Horning shares her sentiments.

“I think we’re just kind of tired of the tipping culture and where it’s gotten to,” Horning said in a Friday interview with CBC Radio’s Blue Sky.

He doesn’t want customers to feel the pressure of a payment terminal where the lowest option might start at 20 per cent, he said.

“That becomes some feeling of maybe guilt or annoyance,” said Horning.

Tipping has become a necessity because workers are commonly underpaid, he said, but he wants to change that — even if it means raising menu prices.

“I understand that it can be nerve-racking, but the public also does understand and you have to give people a chance to understand your mission and what you’re going for,” he said.

Instead of tipping at the café, Horning urges customers to focus their generosity elsewhere — by buying someone else’s coffee, leaving a tip at another establishment or donating to a cause, for example.

“What we’ve heard is people are just happy to support living wages,” he said.

“They’re happy to support people who are happy with their job and are happy with the place that they work, but also support an employer that is taking care of their workers and is not simply driven by collecting a profit.”

One recent survey suggested Canadians are starting to tip less, probably as a result of tipping expectations ballooning, said Bruce Sellery, CEO of the non-profit credit counselling agency Credit Canada.

“The number of places where we’re asked to tip has expanded dramatically,” he said. “People are feeling frustrated because it’s not clear what the rules are anymore.”

With minimum tip suggestions going up as high as 20 per cent, more customers are going to feel what many are calling “tip fatigue,” according to Michael von Massow, a professor and food economist at the University of Guelph.

“If you try and get nudged too hard, many of us are starting to push back,” he told CBC’s Blue Sky. “I think we’re reaching a breaking point here where people are feeling uncomfortable with the social norm.”

This Saskatoon coffee shop has a no-tipping policy

Massow said views on tipping can vary in other cultures.

“In Europe, service is a vocation and is often paid much better than it is here,” he said.

That, he says, is different from a system that normalizes underpaying workers, with the expectation they’ll get tips to supplement their income.

Massow also said that there is “a strong correlation between expected tip and quality of service,” which leads to inequitable behaviour. 

“Young women, people of colour are perceived to be lower tippers, so they will get lower service, even before they’ve tipped,” he said.

Factors like perceived level of attractiveness can also create a tipping bias, he said.

Resistance to a no-tipping policy would likely not come from consumers, but staff, he said, citing an example in New York where staff left a restaurant that eliminated tipping.

Some workers may believe they deserve better compensation than others, he said.

“The reality of human nature is everyone thinks they’re above average,” said Massow. 

Still, he says changes in tipping culture, like Out of Order Coffee’s approach, can be successful.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if over the next 10 to 20 years, that we really see a move away from tipping,” he said.

Out of Order Coffee customer Shae Graham says it might have been “weird” not tipping at first. 

“At the same time, it’s something I can wrap my head around and get used to if this becomes the norm,” he said. 

“Then everybody gets a livable wage.”