By any metric, Toast is on a heater. The Boston tech player that already powers roughly one in five independent restaurants has been stacking logos, scaling payments, and moving upstream into enterprise. Landing deals with Applebee’s, Firehouse Subs, and Papa Murphy’s signaled it can play far beyond mom-and-pop.
Now comes the next frontier: the drive-thru.
CEO Aman Narang has made clear that a purpose-built system for multi-lane complexity—and eventually voice automation—could unlock the largest transaction river in quick service. Strategically, he’s right.
Culturally? It’s a minefield.
Because when you mix drive-thru velocity with digital gratuity prompts, consumers don’t speed up. They freeze.
The friction point: speed vs. social pressure
Drive-thru success is measured in seconds per car, order accuracy, and repeat visits. Introducing a tip screen injects three risky variables:
1. Cognitive delay – the guest must decide.
2. Emotional load – the guest may feel judged.
3. Operational drag – even two extra seconds per car can back up the lane.
Inside dining rooms, tips are normalized. At a pickup counter, many guests accept them. At a drive-thru speaker, the mental model shifts to retail transaction, not hospitality exchange.
That difference matters.
Generational tipping reality at the window
Here’s how cohorts tend to view it today, based on consumer research patterns across restaurant formats.
Gen Z
Digitally native and comfortable with prompts, but value transparency. They will tip if:
· service feels personalized, or
· wages are framed clearly.
They resist default percentages that feel automatic or inflated.
Millennials
The habit-formers of modern tipping culture. More likely to comply, yet increasingly fatigued by being asked everywhere. They reward speed, accuracy, and friendliness.
Gen X
Pragmatic. Grew up with tipping tied to table service. Many see drive-thru gratuity as optional at best, inappropriate at worst.
Boomers
The most resistant cohort in this channel. If they tip, it’s usually cash and based on exceptional human interaction—not a touchscreen suggestion.
Why this matters for Toast
Toast’s economic engine is payments. More transactions plus higher tickets equals higher processing revenue. A well-placed tip prompt can lift totals.
But in the drive-thru, the wrong prompt can:
· hurt throughput,
· frustrate loyal customers,
· and create brand backlash for operators.
In other words, adoption risk shifts from tech ROI to consumer tolerance.
Automation changes the psychology
If AI voice ordering becomes common, who exactly is being tipped?
When a guest speaks to software, the perceived recipient of gratitude disappears. Without a visible human moment, gratuity logic weakens dramatically.
This is where design, language, and timing will make or break the initiative.
What operators will demand
Large chains considering Toast’s drive-thru tools will measure:
· average service time
· conversion rate
· customer satisfaction
· abandonment or balking
If tip prompts slow the line or dent loyalty metrics, they will be dialed back fast.
The growth backdrop
Toast’s momentum is undeniable: revenue up sharply, tens of thousands of locations added, profitability surging. The company bought digital drive-thru specialist Delphi Display Systems precisely to prepare for this expansion.
The strategy is sound.
Execution must be delicate.
Because consumers are already signaling tip fatigue across coffee, counter service, and self-checkout environments.
The core paradox
Technology can request a tip every time.
Customers will not say yes every time.
Bridging that gap without eroding goodwill is the art.
Insights from the Grocerant Guru®
1. Context will outrank convenience.
Guests will tip where human effort is obvious. Invisible labor will struggle.
2. Speed is sacred in the lane.
Any feature that threatens throughput will face operator resistance, no matter the revenue promise.
3. Expect smarter prompts, not louder ones.
The winners will tailor requests based on order size, complexity, weather, and daypart rather than blasting every customer identically.
Toast is absolutely right to enter the drive-thru.
It just has to tiptoe.
Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869
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