Canadians Are Among the World's Most Generous Tippers — But 1 Country Beat Us
(It's not Mexico, but they also almost had us.)
Diners eat at a Montreal restaurant, where tipping is likely expected.
Many money-related concerns are touchy subjects, but tipping culture — which is about money but also serves as referenda on other humans' service to us — is especially tricky. In North America, it's generally considered polite to tip upwards of 10%, although the etiquette surrounding tipping varies widely in other regions of the world.
According to some research from HelloSafe, a company that seeks to help people compare travel insurance and other financial services, Canada is the second-highest tipping country in the world, coming just after the United States, where customers tip an average of 20% on each order.
In Canada, HelloSafe writes, the average tipping range is between 15% and 20%. Mexico, the third-place country, tips closer to 15% on average, while the fourth-place country, Qatar, tips between 10% and 15%.
The U.A.E. is in fifth place, with a tipping average, like Qatar's, between 10% and 15%.
These data were pulled from TripAdvisor's tip guides, which provide advice on how to pay politely in various regions across the world. HelloSafe says these results were then cross-referenced with “at least one other source,” although it's unclear what exactly those sources are.
In Montreal, servers have told MTL Blog that a tip of at least 15% should be considered the norm for good service, with tips as high as 20% or even more for service that goes above and beyond. The bottom line is that tipping is a good idea while you're spending time in the Great White North, regardless of how you feel about the server you're assigned. Maybe someday we'll pay our service staff more, but that day has yet to come.