Worked at Bono Coffee in Calgary and the owner took 87% of our tips

I was on a working holiday and worked almost full-time for 10 months. At this café, tips from all the locations averaged around $6,000 a month, but I only received about $94 in tips each month. That means my tips amounted to about 60 cents per hour. The owner took 87% of the tips. It’s not illegal in Alberta, and my boss took full advantage of that.

What’s worse, the money I did receive wasn’t paid regularly – I was only given it as a lump sum when I quit, and the owner claimed he was “collecting” it until I left. If I had been getting that amount regularly, I would’ve quit much earlier.

Just one week before my last day, the owner finally handed me an employment agreement to sign. But even in that agreement, there was no mention of the tip percentage or how much we’d receive monthly. When my coworker and I questioned it, the owner simply said, “If you don’t like it, you have to resign. You have to quit.”

I was already planning to leave, but the coworker who raised the issue with me also ended up quitting.

Other illegal practices (like no break time and having someone work under a tourist visa) have already been reported to the authorities. But after working there for 10 months, being treated like this at the end was just disappointing. Honestly, this experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that it made me lose affection for Canada.

Just wanted to share my experience so others can be aware.