In Ontario, the general minimum wage, including liquor servers, bartenders and waiters, is $15.50 per hour. In some areas of the US, the minimum wage for tipped services is, unbelievably, $2.13 per hour, the same minimum that was established in 1991.
Tipping in the United States is on the rise, and experts are calling it tipflation. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of tips provided at full-service restaurants grew by 17% from the fourth quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, the tip frequency at quick-service restaurants rose 16% during the same time period. Experts say that’s because of the newer and sleeker-looking Point-of-Sale, or POS, systems by tech companies like Square, Toast and Clover, who also have increased their sales as a result. The pressure to tip well in front of the tip receiver, before a service is completed, or in front of other customers makes a difference for many. After customers swipe their credit card, they’re typically prompted with three large tipping options on a screen. While businesses can opt out of the tipping feature, most aren’t. In fact, even Starbucks started prompting customers for tips in stores in September 2022. With Americans being pressured to tip higher percentages and for more services, the question is, where is the tipping point? Here is a direct video link.
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