Fixed price on the menu | Restaurateurs put an end to tipping

To prevent customers from “jumping” when they see their bill and to ensure a stable salary for their employees, no matter the time of year, restaurateurs have decided to include taxes and tips in the prices displayed on the menu. A pasta dish sold for $20 will not cost the consumer a penny more.

Widespread in Europe, this modus operandi is more marginal on this side of the Atlantic. Two recently opened establishments in Bic, in the Lower St. Lawrence, have adopted it. Other restaurants such as Alentours in Quebec City and Lawrence in Montreal have also eliminated tips. In the case of these last two establishments, however, the prices on the menu are indicated before taxes.

“I find it interesting that the customer can see the final price directly on the board,” explains Audrey Banville, owner of Saison deli, a café and ice cream shop, on the other end of the line. “In less than a minute, we prepare an ice cream or a coffee, it’s a relatively quick service. Does that really require a 25% tip?” asks the woman who opened her establishment in June in Bic.

Not far away, at the restaurant Le Bicois, co-owner Élizabeth Tremblay also says she wants to limit the “surprise effect” for customers by adjusting her menu prices to include both taxes and service. To achieve this, she and her partner, Thomas Poirier, made calculations that take into account, among other things, payroll and the cost of purchasing food.

A stable salary

This approach in these two establishments, which was first the subject of a report by Ici Radio-Canada Bas-Saint-Laurent, also allows employees to receive a stable salary all year round without depending on tips, in a region that is full of tourist customers mainly during the summer months.

Currently in Quebec, the minimum wage for employees who receive tips is set at $12.60 per hour compared to $15.75 for other workers.

When they opened their little bar on June 24, Élizabeth Tremblay and Thomas Poirier decided that they would pay a fixed salary – without tips – to their employees in the dining room and kitchen. “If this is your first experience in the restaurant business and you’re motivated, you’ll start right away with a salary of $21 an hour,” she says. The hourly rate then varies based on experience.

The lack of competition and the fact that there is a high and low season have encouraged the implementation of this business model, according to the restaurateur who has a team of seven employees.

Whether serving coffee in the morning or wine in the evening, an employee will receive the same salary, regardless of the traffic. An evening shift in August or November will also allow him to earn the same amount.

It was also out of concern for providing “salary stability” to his team that Tim Moroney, chef and owner of Alentours restaurant, eliminated tips in January at his establishment. “I always say that service employees don’t want to earn tips, they just want to earn a good living,” he maintains. “If you pay a salary that’s decent, everyone’s happy.”

The restaurateur, however, declined to reveal how much he pays his employees.

A model that may involve risks

Moreover, while this formula suits the owners of the establishments surveyed for the moment, it could not be applied everywhere, according to Élizabeth Tremblay. “It is interesting for friendly, entry-level restaurants, which give a chance to people who are starting out.”

“It’s a model that can work, particularly in Bic, with a tourist clientele,” adds Martin Vézina, vice-president of public and government affairs for the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ).

But there are risks to doing so, he warns. “Often what employees find is that they make less money when they don’t get tips.”

He also points out that in some cases, prices including tips seem too high to consumers. It is by realizing this that some restaurateurs have abandoned the model, he points out.

“If you want to take away the tip and pay the same wage, you have to put it on the menu,” Moroney acknowledges. But he believes it’s worth the effort, and believes that ensuring a decent wage for servers is the responsibility of the employer, not the customer who tips them. “Consumers have to figure out what the server is paying in front of them when it’s time to pay. That’s not fun for anyone.”