In Canada, the price you see is rarely the price you will pay. The reason being that most stores don't include taxes, which may be 7% or 14% depending on the product. And most services expect you to tip. This expectation for tipping is offset by the huge amount of change that you will accumulate (they still use 1c pieces here) - tipping is always a good opportunity to offload the shrapnel in your wallet.
I have started a little crusade of my own though. There are a few stores - generally little places in food courts - which actually include taxes in the price. When I get this nice little surprise I make sure to tip. Especially as, being a small store in a food court, they don't offer much service and don't really expect tips. Like today when I bought a hot chocolate, advertised as $1.25. I expected to pay $1.34 so had $1.50 ready...
Her: That's $1.25 thanks.Sure it's only a quarter, but that's a 20% tip for hot water with chocolate dust in it. When did you last feel the need to do that in Australia?
Me: Here's $1.50.
Her: (puts $1.25 in register, returns quarter) Uh, it's $1.25.
Me: (returns quarter) No. I appreciate someone who puts bloody taxes in their prices.
Her: (laughs) Thanks!
1 comment:
I don't know how it works in BC, but in Ontario, certain types of food products (i.e. not prepackaged) under $4 are tax-exempt. So it may not be that the tax is included, but that there's no tax at all.
- RG>
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