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In a report highly anticipated by service workers on Maui, Canadians were deemed the worst tippers on the Valley Isle.
“Canadians left the smallest tips, if any at all, on Maui the past year,” said Dexter Hinglebody of the National Gratuity Association (NGA). “And it’s not even close.”
The Association spent a year interviewing 1,276 waiters, bus boys, cabana dudes, shuttle drivers, and members of about a dozen other professions where workers depend greatly on tips.
Hinglebody says some of the input was quite eye-opening. He shared some comments:
“I just see that maple leaf on a suitcase and I just shake my head,” said a driver who shuttles pilots and flight attendants to and from Kahului Airport for 12 hours a day.
“By the second ‘Eh?’ that I hear, I know the table is a lost cause,” said a waitress in Paia.
“I’ve tried everything ~ mentioning the Canadiens, telling my best Trudeau jokes ~ but nothing seems to move the needle,” said a cabana boy in Wailea.
Canadians were followed in the Worst Tippers list by New Yorkers, anyone from the Bay Area, and Portland.
The best tippers came from Westlake Village, Calif., and Las Vegas.
On a side study, Hawaii ranked dead last among all the states in the new Minimum Wage-vs.-Cost of Living index. The state has the highest cost of living among the 50 states, and the lowest minimum wage.
One Canadian traveler at OGG on Sunday expressed surprise at the whole gratuity concept.
“Don’t they get paid by the establishment, with what we pay the establishment?” asked Joseph Gretzky from Vancouver. “Why would we have to pay twice, eh?”
