If it feels like every time you buy a coffee, grab a takeout pizza, or pick up a $6 scone in Vancouver, you’re met with a big shiny tipping screen, you’re not imagining it. And you’re definitely not alone in feeling like tipping culture has gotten out of hand.
Across Canada, the debate has been heating up. In Ontario, servers now earn standard minimum wage after the old “server wage” was scrapped in 2022. Many people there are questioning why tipping is still treated as a requirement, especially when 20% tips are now the default on some payment screens. That frustration is starting to spill over into Vancouver, too.
Reddit user False-Honey3151 summed it up perfectly:
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The pressure to tip in Vancouver has gone beyond polite suggestions. Last year, a Burnaby restaurant, Chicken Plus x Sulbing Cafe, went viral after covering the “No Tip” option on its payment terminal with a sticker that read “tip” and “thank you.” The move sparked outrage online, with Redditors calling it “brazen,” “ridiculous,” and “shady.”
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Even when the option exists, some Vancouverites feel the suggested tip amounts are getting out of hand. Reddit user pseudonymmed shared:
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And this isn’t just a local problem. North American tipping culture is ballooning. Vancouver Redditor abarrongirl noticed the trend when travelling:
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For many locals, the debate comes down to this: tipping should be a reward, not an obligation. As living costs soar and BC servers earn standard wages, more Vancouverites are rethinking how and when they tip — and some are simply hitting “No Tip” more often.
Whether this frustration will change Vancouver’s tipping culture is still up in the air, but one thing’s clear: people are tired of paying extra just to do what used to be normal.
