And this, I believe, is why service in Canada is an order of magnitude worse than in the US. American service is of a spectrum between respectful and obsequious. A talented server at an expensive restaurant in the US can get you to order more drinks than you would have, buy dessert and an appetizer where you wouldn't have, and still tip 25%. Canadian service, on the other hand, is of a spectrum between diffident and respectful. A talented server at an expensive restaurant in Canada will make you confident that they're telling the truth that the monkfish is fresh. I've never had an experience in Canada that was worth more than 15%. I think it comes down to the fact that Canadian servers can suck balls and still earn a living. American servers without the knack quickly cycle down to the restaurants you don't want to go to.Good wage and comparable tips to what you will find in the states.
It’s true in a lot of places, American’s have higher expectations for service than Canadians. I think it’s that a lot of people get into it thinking it’s easy money and they don’t stand to lose that much by taking a chance since the wage is similar. The best servers are sales people and that’s not for everybody.