From tip fatigue to tip theft, the humble dispensary tip jar has become a window into some of the cannabis industry’s biggest unresolved labor questions.
It’s just a jar on a counter, but the tip jar at the dispensary has a way of making things complicated. Some consumers happily toss a few dollars in appreciation of product knowledge and recommendations from the employee. Others feel that budtenders should be paid a living wage, and with multiple added taxes to each purchase, asking for even more dollars out of the wallet is just too much.
Generally, the idea is that a shopper quizzes the budtender on products, resulting in sometimes a lengthy customer interaction. The shopper then throws a few bucks in the jar in appreciation for the time spent. However, some dispensaries greet customers with a large tablet to place orders, and the budtender simply retrieves the bag from the back, checks ID, and rings up the sale. In those cases, customers often feel a tip isn’t warranted because the budtender is acting more like a cashier than a product expert.
Photo by Cova Software on Unsplash
Tipping Fatigue
More broadly, consumers report tipping fatigue as tap-and-pay terminals increasingly prompt for gratuities even when little service is provided. An annual study of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted in September 2025 by restaurant tech company Popmenu found two-thirds (65%) of consumers say they are fed up with tipping, up from 60% last year and 53% in 2023. Consumers estimate they are asked to tip for different services about ten times a month on average, and 43% say they are tipping less this year.
“Americans are besieged with tipping requests at every turn, often when an employee provides little to no actual customer service,” said Jeffrey Miller, CEO of HoneyProjects. His venture, HoneyGrove, was named 2024 Dispensary …
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Author: Debra Borchardt / High Times
