While getting complimentary meals and drinks in exchange for creating social media content sounds like a mutually beneficial agreement, are Toronto influencers taking this exchange for granted?

With Toronto being an influencer hub with a bustling restaurant and bar scene, it's no surprise that restaurant owners are reaching out to influencers to promote their establishments. However, it seems servers are being negatively affected by this.

Servers in the city say that influencers frequently fail to leave a gratuity, even after getting a free night out. I asked the people dealing with this directly what they had to say.

"I think the restaurant should cover all aspects of that bill. I think it's important to take care of your staff, especially if they are expected to tip out," said Mariah, a general manager at a Toronto restaurant.

"Ideally, restaurant owners would include this in their costs. Will they? I don't think so, but it would be the right thing to do.”

With most servers having to tip out a percentage of their sales to the back of house, leaving no tip means servers often have to take money out of their own pocket to compensate.

"Recently, I served a group of influencers and after sitting in my section for hours and getting a $500 bill comped, they left no tip," said Preston, a server at busy dive bar Queen Street Warehouse. 

"I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but we are also encouraged to give even better service to influencers. Receiving nothing after serving a table for hours can be frustrating."

Although tipping is technically optional, a 15-20 per cent tip is customary. Servers rely on tips and table turnover to supplement their income and with the rising costs in the city, every penny counts.

To get a different perspective, I asked Erin Chau, a Toronto-based lifestyle influencer, what her thoughts were. Erin mentioned she always tips when receiving a complimentary meal, but she did give some insight as to why she thinks some influencers don't.

"I think a lot of influencers don't tip and I can also see it on their side. If I'm working with a restaurant, the company should be covering the tip. I'm working with the restaurant the same way I work with brands. If I'm working with a hair care company and they send me the product, they are covering the shipping and they are covering the extra costs," she explains.

"My job is to film and post content. If I'm tipping, then I'm taking money out of my pocket to cover something that was not agreed to in the collaboration or the contract. I think in the future, restaurants should cover their servers' tips for bills that are complimentary."

These anecdotes highlight the scope of the problem and raise the question: Is it the restaurant's responsibility to cover gratuity when offering influencers complimentary service?

I asked members of a popular service industry Facebook group what their thoughts were. Here are a few things that restaurant owners had to say.

John Ciampini owns Smokeshow BBQ and Brew and prioritizes keeping his staff happy. "As an owner, I agree we should take on the costs of tipping as part of marketing. The same should apply when we invite family over for a comp meal and they don't leave a suitable tip," he says.

However, not all restaurant owners were so keen on this idea, with some calling servers entitled and ungrateful. These owners refused to be on the record.

One said, "If a server doesn't support one table in a week, or a month or more, that are guests of the house, god help their entitled little selves."

Another took it a bit further, commenting: "The restaurant is not there so the server can have a job. The marketing is not done so the server can get tipped. The cleaners don’t come in so the server can get tipped. Servers can occasionally suck it up and wait on a table all night long and not get a tip. It's all in the spirit of gratitude towards the restaurant owner."

Though serving influencers is not an everyday occurrence, servers put their time and effort into providing top-notch service. Ultimately, it seems that influencers, servers, and management would be happier if all restaurant owners were to include tips in the deal from the get-go.