I just did a cursory search to see what there was to see;
from
http://www.vidaamericana.com/english/tipping.html "Tipping in America: How to Tip in the U.S."
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by LivingAmerican.com
How To Tip
For employees in some service industries it is common and expected practice to offer a tip on top of the bill as long as service is not below average. Following are some common tipping guidelines:
* waiters: 15-17% of bill before tax, 20% at a 5-star restaurant or for large parties (at a fancy restaurant check to make sure service is not included in the bill)
|
And from the definitive source; Tipping.org,
http://www.tipping.org/tips/restaurant.html
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Tipping.org
Waitstaff - The source of many e-mails, this section is the most controversial on the site. Especially the 'waiter / waitress entry. My opinion is: tip your waiter / waitress. But this is not to say that it should be ever considered 'required'. Recently, most wait staff have lost sight of the fact that a tip is a gratuity and NOT a must. It is also a fact that in a lot of places, wait staff are underpaid (usually less than minimum wage) and must share tips with busboys, aides, etc. What I mean by 4 star restaurant is any restaurant that by default gives extraordinary service. Large parties are any parties over 6 people....
waiter or waitress 15% to 20% of bill.
If you receive excellent service or if it is a 4 star + restaurant or large parties, a 20% or greater tip is recommended.
|
And from one of host's linked articles;
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by cityt.ca
The BMO/Mosaik MasterCard survey suggests 78 per cent of Canadians tip the standard 15 per cent in restaurants, though it appears Canadians aren't nearly as generous to workers in other service sectors.
|
So to summarize, most Canadians tip at least 15%, and the Canadian standard as referred to in that article is 15%. The established American standard is 15-20%. Higher for fine dining, as Host represents, but for regular dining, 15-20%.
The tipping standard for fine dining is 18.7-20+%, but I think there has been a lack of clarity that the OP was establishing tipping rates for finer dining.
Finally, for the average dining experience, it should be noted that Canadian servers are being paid a higher wage and earning comparable tips. As a result, the idea that tipping based on performance isn't offensive. I'll also reiterate that yahoo.ca and most posters in this thread were in reference to average dining, not fine dining.