Dining out during the holidays comes with the big question: What to tip?

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Want a hot tip on what to tip when dining out this holiday season?

Tracy Macgregor, vice-president of Ontario, Restaurants Canada, says it’s really up to each person, depending on their judgment of the level of service.

But the industry standard is at least 15%.

“There’s not any set amount; it really is up to the diner,” said Macgregor.

“It should be dependent on the service you received and how happy you are. So if somebody has gone out of their way to please you, you want to recognize that. I think you’ll see anywhere from 15%-20%, and then you’ll see up into the 25% range, especially at the time of year,” he added. “I guess some of that falls from right after the pandemic, where people were tipping higher.”

Macgregor acknowledged an Angus Reid poll earlier this year which found three in five Canadian felt as if they’re being asked to tip more and more often.

They call it “tip-flation.”

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Part of that feeling can be attributed to some restaurants inserting tipping prompts ranging from 15% and above, but Macgregor noted customers have the ability to change the amounts.

“The prompts are just for convenience — so, a lot of people don’t like to do the math in their head to be honest,” said Macgregor.

“It’s interesting because this concept of tipping exhaustion, I totally get that. I think with the prompts, they were meant for convenience, but I think what we’re seeing is people are now thinking, ‘Well, that’s now the norm. I can’t go below it.’”

The other component in all this, noted Macgregor, is that “we’ve gone to almost a fully cashless society. In a coffee shop for instance when we used to say, ‘Keep the change,’ and it really wasn’t on our minds. You’re reminded of that now because you see the prompts.”

So, should you tip in a coffee shop — maybe 50 cents to $1 for a cup of brew?

“Again, it’s a personal choice. It’s not always a prompt at coffee shops, I’ve noticed that,” said Macgregor. “And even in some fast food places, you’ll see it in some and in others you don’t.”

How about take out food that you pick it up yourself?

“I don’t think there is an expectation around that,” said Macgregor.

There’s also a labour shortage for servers and back of house employees in restaurants so wages are a bit higher now than in the past.

Macgregor said in Ontario, servers now earn the same minimum wage as everyone else — $16.55 per hour. In the past, they earned an amount lower than the minimum wage because they were expected to supplement their income with tips.