How fast food gratuity is impacting traditional tipping habits

Emma Voelpel, Staff Writer

A routine stop at a convenience store for a snack—a bag of chips and a pop—now often comes with an added prompt at checkout. As the purchase gets rung through, the payment screen displays three tipping options: 18 per cent, 20 per cent, 22 per cent. 

Looking for a quick bite at a rest stop or fast-food joint is becoming more expensive as tipping culture continues to bleed into other industries beyond restaurant service.

In traditional sit-down restaurants, tipping has served as an informal yet key part of the business model. Servers typically earn an hourly base pay, but a significant portion of their income relies on gratuities—usually 15 to 20 per cent of the customer’s bill. 

Those tips are often shared through a “tip-out” system with kitchen staff, bartenders and other workers, making gratuities a central part of income across the operation. However, the assumption that tipping is a normal and necessary part of dining has become less widely accepted.

In 2025, H&R Block conducted a survey showing that a colossal 94 per cent of Canadians have become increasingly agitated by tipping culture. This tension around gratuities has existed for decades, but has become more apparent as tipping has expanded beyond its traditional setting, with customers routinely asked to leave gratuities in places with limited to no table service—including fast-food outlets, coffee counters, and convenience stores.

How the pandemic played a part

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift. During lockdown, customers tipped more generously to support workers in hard-hit sectors. But as businesses reopened, tipping prompts in new establishments remained in place.

The result has been a growing sense of “tip-fatigue” as customers face more frequent requests to add gratuities.   

Emily Fast has been serving in sit-down restaurants since 2013, and she has noticed a dwindling enthusiasm for tipping over the years. 

“There’s always that expectation, no matter where you go to give that extra dollar,” says Fast. 

This shift has altered Canadians’ perceptions of tipping. What was once closely tied to personalised service has now become a standard of payment, regardless of the level of staff interaction.

“The tip is the interaction, the gesture, the above and beyond,” says Fast.

For full-service restaurants, this shift may have unintended consequences.

A research study by the Angus Reid Institute found that Canadians have been feeling pressure to tip more at restaurants since 2016. At the same time, rising menu prices driven by inflation have made sit-down restaurants more sensitive to overall cost. 

A trend reflected in Statistics Canada showed how food purchased in restaurants has seen price increases in recent years. When higher prices are paired with higher suggested tip options, customers feel the final total can be excessive, and in some cases, might decide not to tip at all.  

Sit-down service places face friendly fire

Tipping in a full-service restaurant is directed to servers and passed on through the tip-out system. In non-traditional tip settings, such as fast-food chains or rest stops, there is less clarity about whether tips go directly to employees, are pooled, or are used to offset wages and operating costs. 

With frustration growing among consumers, attention is now turning to what can be done to reset how tipping works in Canada.

Some Canadian restaurants—including Toronto-based places like Richmond Station and Burdock Brewery—have experimented with eliminating tipping in favour of higher wages. While the approach has been welcomed by customers, the practice has yet to be widely adopted, in part due to competitiveness and concerns about higher listed prices. 

Another approach adopted by some provincial governments is to be more transparent about prices that include gratuity.

In 2025, Quebec implemented new consumer protection rules requiring restaurants and other establishments to calculate suggested tip amounts based on the pre-tax subtotal of a bill. 

This regulation also mandates that tipping options on payment terminals be presented neutrally. Officials say the change makes tips clearer for diners and prevents suggested amounts from looking higher than they really are. 

However, 67 per cent of Canadians are in favour of a culture in Canada that doesn’t require gratuity for service. Even Fast, after years in the industry, feels as if it’s time for Canada to join the UK and Australia. 

“If they raised the minimum wage for industry workers, I feel like they could just abolish tipping culture altogether,” she says. 

For now, tipping remains deeply embedded in Canada’s restaurant industry, even as its role continues to evolve. 

As Canadians continue to adjust their tipping habits, the future of tipping may depend on whether people are willing to accept lower menu prices in exchange for an added cost at the end of the bill, even as tipping becomes more common outside the restaurant industry.