Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
“We realized we can just skip the tipping,” Hong Dai with WoodHouse BBQ simply put it.
Twelve years ago, her husband Jacky opened the restaurant to create a place in North York that replicated the atmosphere of a market in northern China, grilling lamb, pork belly and chicken skewers on a charcoal barbecue.
“Because both Jacky and I are first generation immigrants, we know how hard it is to feel at home, at ease,” Dai said, adding that all of their staff are new Chinese immigrants. “This restaurant is more than just a business for us, it’s more like our living room.”
In the wake of the pandemic, they pondered how to repay their gratitude to customers who kept them afloat, with some now struggling with the skyrocketing cost of living. They came up with an idea and set it into motion last month.
Hong Dai with Wood House BBQ poses in a photo at the restaurant in North York. The restaurant introduced a no-tipping model, plastering posters on their walls and sharing the news on social media. “Tipping is no longer accepted,” the signs said. In its place, they introduced profit sharing, promising staff would earn at least the same amount as before, if not more.They also redirected their marketing budget towards staff bonuses.
“We do bookkeeping every month, and we do our profit sharing every three months, and part of the net profit goes to our staff according to work hours. That’s including front of house and back of house,” Dai said.
So far, staff have gotten a little more than they would have with tips, Dai said. “They are happy with it,” she added.
Meanwhile, prices have stayed the same, with four meat skewers ranging from $5.95 to 17.95, depending on the selection, and spicy clams with toasted naan sitting at $24.99.
Wood House BBQ's owner smiles from the kitchen, where he also works as a chef in the restaurant. For customers who want to show support to the restaurant, Dai asks them to leave five-star reviews and encourages them to donate a meal from the restaurant to a member of the community in need, through their partnership with Nourishing our Neighborhoods.
While the no-tipping model has worked out for the small family-run spot so far, she acknowledged that it might not work for every restaurant.
“We value connection over tips. Even before we announced the no-tipping policy, I always skipped the tipping option on the payment machine when I personally knew the customers and I always say, ‘You don’t need to tip your friends,’” Dai said.
Customers at Wood House BBQ gather in the North York Chinese restaurant. A block away from WoodHouse BBQ, Dai runs a coffee shop, Another Land Coffee, where they are also adopting a no-tipping policy and replacing it with profit sharing.
Ultimately, she said, “We all want to make it a better place to live, one meal at a time. “
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
Impaired driver sentenced to 7 years after double-fatal Cambridge crash
A man who killed two people in a drunk driving crash was sentenced Friday to seven years behind bars.
Online obituary business from Quebec City catching flak for posting unauthorized death notices
Some within the funeral home and mortuary services industries in Quebec say they are frustrated with an online obituary site that publishes death notices from public information posted on the internet. They claim the site is doing so without consent from the families.
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for child care as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.