Sun Sep 15 12:45:38 UTC 2024: ## Quebec’s New Tip Law Sparks Debate Among Restaurant Staff and Management
**Montreal, QC** – A new bill tabled by the Quebec government proposing to regulate how merchants calculate suggested tips is generating mixed reactions from the province’s restaurant and bar workers. The bill, which would require businesses to calculate tips as a percentage of the pre-tax price, has been met with both approval and disapproval from those who rely on tips for a large portion of their income.
While some servers, like Julia Dougall-Picard, welcome the change, believing it might encourage patrons to be more generous, others like Jaskaran Singh, manager of Arriba Burrito, express disappointment. Singh argues that customers, particularly tourists, often refuse to tip despite the low minimum wage for servers.
Restaurant managers also have differing opinions. While Marc-Antoine Bourdages, manager of Brasseurs du Monde, supports the change, believing most customers are unaware of the current system of calculating tips after tax, he acknowledges his staff likely won’t be pleased with the change.
Martin Vezina, vice-president of public affairs at the Quebec Restaurant Association, suggests the change will result in less money for dining room staff but won’t have a significant impact on the industry overall. He argues that the payment processing companies responsible for programming tip suggestions are ultimately the ones setting the percentages, not restaurants themselves.
Vezina also sees the bill as a missed opportunity to address the issue of no-show reservations, which he claims cost Quebec restaurants an average of $47,000 per year.
The new bill, while intended to protect consumers from unknowingly paying more than they intend, has ignited a debate surrounding the impact of tip regulations on both restaurant staff and the industry as a whole.
First Piper 