Re: The Latest Salvo in the Tip Wars

On Tue, 8 Jul 2025 16:43:42 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
wrote:

On Aug 20, 2024 at 7:23:13 PM PDT, "BTR1701" <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>

The latest in the tip wars... businesses covering up the "no tip" option on
their card readers. I was at Subway a couple days ago and saw this. I ended
up
tapping the "custom tip" button and entering $0.00. I don't tip fast food
workers. They don't do much more than just hand me a bag, and in California,
they're making $20/hour by law already, which is why my $5 foot-long now
costs
$14.00.
 
https://ibb.co/pW3khYk

>
I haven't personally come across this one yet, but now they're asking you to
tip even when you don't interact with a human being at all. When you literally
do everything yourself-- taking the product off the shelf, carrying it to the
self-checkout register, ringing it up yourself, bagging it, and paying for it,
the store asks you if you want to add 20% or more to your total as a 'tip'. At
this point, the tip prompt is just basically saying, "Here's your total for
your purchase. Would you like the opportunity to make it more expensive?" No.
No, I wouldn't.
>
Tip who? I literally didn't even talk to any employee my entire time at the
store. I did everything myself. If anyone should be tipped, it's *me*! The
store should knock 20% off my bill because I essentially became their employee
for the time I was in the store. I did all the work a cashier would normally
do.

That's one thing I like about the Public grocery stores. They have an
explicit no tipping policy. They also pay their employees well, which
is something I think all of these service oriented businesses should
do. It's not my fault if the business is paying their employees the
bare minimum.

It's too bad the "custom tip" button on the prompt screen only accepts
numbers. If it let you type letters, I'd enter "Not just no, but fuck no" in
the field.
>
And tipping your landlord? In what world is that a thing? You've got to be
kidding me. A 20% tip to my landlord would be an extra $650/month
($7800/year). I have a lot better things to do with almost eight grand that
hand it to my landlord for nothing.
>
And imagine going into an Apple Store to buy an iPhone and be expected to
leave a 20% ($240) tip for the iPhone 16 you purchased.
>
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https://www.businessinsider.com/customers-are-hesitant-to-tip-at-self-check-out-2023-5
>
Self-checkout machines at cafés, sports stadiums, and airports are asking for
tips-- and customers aren't happy about giving extra money to machines.
>
The Wall Street Journal reported on the rise of digital, self-checkout kiosks
and how customers have responded to tip prompts. Many customers who were asked
to tip workers with whom they had no interaction were frustrated with these
prompts, per the Journal.
>
The report spoke to a half dozen customers around the US. Though some people
were willing to tack on the extra fees, the majority said tip cues were
confusing and many said they were unsure where the money was going.
>
One customer, who took a beer from a self-service beer fridge at San Diego's
Petco Park, was asked to include a tip on his order, the Journal reported. "I
was confused, because it wasn't entirely clear who I was tipping," he told the
Journal, adding that he still tipped 20% anyway.
>
A spokesperson for the stadium, which is the home of the San Diego Padres,
told the Journal that all tips went to employees.
>
A traveler, who was prompted to include a 10% to 20% tip on a $6 bottle of
water at an OTG gift shop in Newark Liberty International Airport in New
Jersey, said that the ask was a "bit of emotional blackmail". The customer did
not tip.
>
A spokesperson for OTG told the journal that all tip money collected is pooled
and then paid out to the staff members working that particular shift.
>
Tipping has been an increasingly controversial point of debate in the country,
with many Americans experiencing "tipping fatigue", as they get asked to tip
at more places and face the effects of inflation.
>
Landlords have taken to TikTok to make a case for gratuity to be added onto
rent...
>
>
https://www.tiktok.com/@someguymark/video/7372361955979316485?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
>
...while the first unionized Apple store in Maryland is fighting for the
introduction of a tipping system.
>
That said, customers haven't stopped tipping: Total tips received by
full-service restaurants and quick-service restaurants were up 16.5% and
15.86%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2022 when compared to the same
period in 2021, a spokesperson for the payment platform Block told Insider.
This data reflects all tips received and not just from self-service kiosks.
>