Prof. Bruce McAdams, a professor in the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, discussed the issue of tipping in high inflationary times with CBC’s The National as well as with CBC Radio’s Cross Country Checkup. 

McAdams said with tipping rates rising to absurd levels, and requests creeping into service areas where they have not usually been expected, a backlash is growing. 

“[Many consumers are] questioning what tipping is. Is it about what it used to be about originally?” he said, adding that research has shown that consumers show discrimination in tipping, which leads to inequity. 

 “It can create divisions in restaurants between front-of-house and back-of-house,” he said. 

McAdams studies various issues within the food service industry in Lang’s School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management.   He has researched and published papers on tipping for more than 10 years.