Dr. Mike von Massow poses for a headshot in front of a shelf of potato chips and goldfish at a grocery store.
Dr. Mike von Massow

Food economist Dr. Mike von Massow explained the phenomenon of “tip creep” to The Globe and Mail. 

“People felt like they wanted to keep restaurants around, and they wanted to help workers. As a result, we saw an expansion of the tipping norm,” von Massow said, adding that expansion has led to “tip creep,” when the tipping amounts customers are presented with gradually increase.  

A professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics within the Ontario Agricultural College, von Massow has researched and published papers on tipping for more than 10 years with colleague Dr. Bruce McAdams in the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics.  

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