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While I'm sure there are good waiters that do their best to treat all customers equally, I can confirm that their tends to be a snap judgement made about the ti

While I'm sure there are good waiters that do their best to treat all customers equally, I can confirm that their tends to be a snap judgement made about the tipping probability of a customer. In one place that I worked the waitstaff used the euphemism "Canadians" to refer to customers that weren't likely to tip (e.g. "I just got sat with a table of Canadians..."). That being said, I sympathize with waiters and tend to tip relatively well since I know firsthand the pressure of only making $2.15/hr + tips on an unpredictable schedule that ended anywhere from 11:30pm to 2:00am (depending on how long my last table stayed).

manicgeek 13y ago
I'm sure that euphemism is based in experience, but as a Canadian, I've found that most of my compatriots (myself included) feel it's only polite to tip at least 20%, and we're VERY IN TO BEING POLITE. :)
- mcphilip 13y ago
  I'm not sure where the term originated at that restaurant, but it probably had nothing to do with Canadians' behavior since it was in a small Texas town that only saw an actual Canadian every once in a blue moon. :)
  - cantankerous 13y ago
    It may not be meant to make any sense. I worked in retail (probably like most people, ever) and we seemed to have a variety of signal-type words that made no sense to customers...or management. Makes the job more fun.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    Maybe they were from Canadian, TX.
  - pfranz 13y ago
    I'm pretty sure the origin is in irony because if someone overheard you calling them "cheap" or a negative stereotype there would be a problem, but if you we overheard calling them "Canadian" it's a lot more benign. I've heard "Canadian" used when working in restaurants outside of Texas, so I think it's fairly common in the US.
- notahacker 13y ago
  I've met Canadians that described the income they used to earn from tips in a top Vancouver restaurant as being far more than they could hope to earn in a mid-level professional job.
samatman 13y ago
Are you sure they didn't use "Canadians" to refer to black people? Because from my understanding that's much more common.
goodcanadian 13y ago
I am only guessing, but Canadians (on average) tend to tip lower than Americans. I have always considered 10-15% standard. In the U.S., they tell me that it is 18-20%. I could never bring myself to tip that much when I lived there. There may be a core of truth to Canadians appearing cheap to American waiters which may be where the euphemism started.

manicgeek 13y ago

I'm sure that euphemism is based in experience, but as a Canadian, I've found that most of my compatriots (myself included) feel it's only polite to tip at least 20%, and we're VERY IN TO BEING POLITE. :)

mcphilip 13y ago
I'm not sure where the term originated at that restaurant, but it probably had nothing to do with Canadians' behavior since it was in a small Texas town that only saw an actual Canadian every once in a blue moon. :)
- cantankerous 13y ago
  It may not be meant to make any sense. I worked in retail (probably like most people, ever) and we seemed to have a variety of signal-type words that made no sense to customers...or management. Makes the job more fun.
- rdouble 13y ago
  Maybe they were from Canadian, TX.
- pfranz 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure the origin is in irony because if someone overheard you calling them "cheap" or a negative stereotype there would be a problem, but if you we overheard calling them "Canadian" it's a lot more benign. I've heard "Canadian" used when working in restaurants outside of Texas, so I think it's fairly common in the US.
notahacker 13y ago
I've met Canadians that described the income they used to earn from tips in a top Vancouver restaurant as being far more than they could hope to earn in a mid-level professional job.

samatman 13y ago

Are you sure they didn't use "Canadians" to refer to black people? Because from my understanding that's much more common.

goodcanadian 13y ago

I am only guessing, but Canadians (on average) tend to tip lower than Americans. I have always considered 10-15% standard. In the U.S., they tell me that it is 18-20%. I could never bring myself to tip that much when I lived there. There may be a core of truth to Canadians appearing cheap to American waiters which may be where the euphemism started.