Bet this was at a pickup counter for a restaurant with no table service
I see them everywhere. The most insulting one was at sprinkles where I had to place order in the POS myself and the guy was just handing me a box from the shelf right behind him.
The most insulting one I’ve seen is at a self-serve convenience store in the Newark Airport. There is no staff that you ever interact with. Who does the tip go to? You for ringing yourself up?
I had a coffee vending machine in the airport asking for a tip. Incredible.
My job has an office in a multi-company building, and we have a self-serve lunch and snack station, and they ask for a tip.
Nobody is tipping that thing. They eventually removed the prompt
And that’s why I don’t feel guilty not tipping some places. What am I tipping for? Nothing.
I just got self-serve frozen yogurt yesterday, the only service interaction was the cashier telling me to put my cup on a scale and saying my total. What am I tipping for?
What am I tipping for?
The owners to pay their employees below poverty wages.
This whole system is designed so that the public subsidizes poorly run businesses.
The only way to make it stop is to force such businesses through legislation to pay their employees more, and to do that you have to get past the “but my business will close / but they’ll replace us with AI / but the market says…” crowd.
Wasn’t there a comic going around about pro-laborer regulations throughout history, like, “giving them two days off each week will kill me,” “taking child laborers out of the mines will kill me,” “covering up all the giant exposed gears in the facility will kill me,” and so on?
And saved. Thank you.
Exactly what I was thinking of, thank you!
Yeah I remember that
In California, restaurants were sneaking in 3% upcharges. They started out as “we’re adding 3% to pay the state-mandated health care costs for our employees.” It quickly progressed to “we’re add 5% to your total bill because fuck you.”
California recently mandated that practice illegal and requires all “extra fees” to be reflected in the prices instead.
Multiple restaurants stated (in public… recorded on TV, no less) that they “would lose business if they stopped this practice because then customers would know how much they’re paying up front.”
I was amazed at their candor. These “entrepreneurs” don’t even know how to be embarrassed by their greed anymore.
They’ll be replaced with AI anyway if they keep demanding tips like that.
AI will still ask for tips.
400%
Somebody a while back posted pictures of self-checkout kiosks asking for tips.
100%. To be clear, I’m not defending any of those kinds of arguments – they just make it difficult for these kinds of changes to happen from a practical standpoint.
Companies will replace all workers with AI or other automation regardless of anything happening with wages. It’s their only option for the endless growth they claim they need.
That’s a weird way to phrase it. Customers are always “subsidizing” businesses by paying for their goods/services. That’s how businesses work, whether they’re well run or not. What tips do is hide the cost of what you’re buying. It was at least possible to calculate it yourself when everyone agreed on the standard 15% and only at places like dine-in restaurants. But that’s no longer the case, so how much you’re expected to pay is a mystery until you’re handed the machine.
Whenever those POS ask for a tip I always click “no tip” and I learned to not worry about what someone else will think. I felt pressured the first time, but I learned that nothing happens if you don’t give a tip. I believe those go straight to the owner anyway.
I still have some hangups about when I am in a restaurant and I still do tip as this is still expected. I just stopped going to restaurants, and I only end up there is someone drags me in.
I hate that whole tip cancer culture, which essentially exists to cheat me to think I’m paying less.
A surprising amount of those kiosks straight up abuse tipping culture simply as another form of payment. My wife has worked at two places where the money just goes to the owner and the employee never sees a tip. I’ve also been directly told the number of times that tips don’t go to the employees by the employees.
I don’t trust it. I only tip in cash if I do.
That’s illegal, FYI.
Could it be construed that you intended to tip the owners of the establishment rather than the employees?
Considering wage theft is the biggest kind of theft we have, I think it’s an unfortunate fact that many employers don’t particularly care what’s legal as long as you can’t practically retaliate.
Most places have laws against tipping to employees that don’t interact with customers in transaction. So owners, cooks, and managers legally can’t get tips.
Edit: But those laws probably aren’t followed at some establishments
That does depend on the state though too. I worked in a restaurant where any tip on take-out/drive-thru/catering was spread among the kitchen staff. No manager can receive tips, but at least the staff preparing and packaging the food still have an opportunity to earn something extra. When I worked there, because of the tips, I earned an extra $2-$3 a shift.
No, cause no one thinks that way. Tipping has always been for the workers.
it absolutely is but no one has the money to take an employer to court even if it’s a slam dunk case
yep where I’m at they say they go to us but afaik we get the same amount either way. I hit no tip for customers now.
I had a cashier do that to me once. I couldn’t tell if she did me a favor or if she was thinking “I already know this guy won’t tip.”
almost 10/10 they were thinking the former. shits expensive rn, service workers don’t want people paying more if they don’t have to.
That should be illegal. Back in the day, if it was an owner run company, then the owner wouldn’t accept tips, even if you tried.
So how this legal ?
It’s probably not. There might be an argument however by saying that technically you could’ve been interpreted as wanting to tip the business which includes the owner not necessarily the person working there.
It should be illegal though.
It also exists to allow restaurant owners to outsource a decent chunk of payroll directly to the customer. Technically it also allows wait staff to make extra money as well.
The reason these payment devices default to asking for a tip (with the option to disable that feature hidden) is that they take a small percentage of every transaction made through them and it goes to the company that made the device.
If I walk in a pick something up, no tip.
Christ these comments are horrifying
A few fuckers tried this on me at a restaurant in Greece last year.
The proper reaction is not to click “no tip” then cower in case someone judges you.
The proper reaction is to click “no tip” then get on every fuckin review site you can find and every social media site the restaurant is on, and leave 1-star reviews for spoiling my fucking lunch by begging for money. Put the price I pay on the menu, or fuck off.
I’ll tip a max of 10% if I want to. That’s generous where I am
Fuck that, your whole point of hospitality is to make me feel comfortable, not uncomfortable.
If you don’t do this, you’re the reason it still happens.
Incidentally, was back in Greece this year and only got harassed for a tip once. Anecdotal but hey, felt like I made a difference
^This. 10% if it was a really good experience, otherwise you simply fulfilled your task and get paid the advertised price and we’re good.
I lock eyes with the checker as I press “no tip”. People get uncomfortable real quick if they try to shame you and you’re not ashamed. They should be ashamed because the dirty tactics they use.
I agree with everything except the cowering part. Ask them if they’re insane.
I can’t resist posting this comic whenever tip screens are mentioned or shown.
I don’t support the idea of tipping. The responsibility shouldn’t fall on the consumer to ensure that employees are paid well — that competition is, and should be, between the employer and employee — tipping encourages employers to underpay their employees, thereby artificially reducing their overhead. It makes even less sense when one considers people who set their own rates, eg hair stylists — one should charge what they think their service is worth. If no one is willing to pay the price of the service, then the service isn’t worth the price — tips will just end up artificially inflating prices. Furthermore, it just rubs salt in the wound when taxes, ie VAT, are charged after tipping.
You guys STILL accept signatures? Signature for payment on cards was phased out 10 years ago in Australia.
Honestly, I don’t think the signature actually does anything. Any of them that require a signature on a pad, I just do a short scribble, and it’s fine. If it’s a paper receipt (like at a sit-down restaurant), I usually just use my actual signature.
Screen based ones I let my inner child play and draw a dick. It’s an easy way to tell if they actually see it, or just capture it.
I’m now imagining your real name is Dick, and you’re just messing with people (assuming anyone looks at the signatures) by drawing that.
Yes, make all customers touch a germy touchpad. Infect them all.
Uh, mostly we do contactless for that kind of amount, we just wave the card at the machine.
I try my hands at cool graffiti
There was a comedy website a good 20 years ago at this point (Zug, if anyone else out there remembers them) where someone tested this by doing more and more ridiculous “signatures” every time to see if anyone called him on it. If memory serves, the closest thing he had to an issue was a store manager chuckling a bit when it devolved to him just straight up drawing dicks.
It’s only looked at when the customer issues a chargeback, and then the card issuer goes “oh, it doesn’t match, so sad” and yoinks their money back.
Fortunately every first world country uses chip and pin or contactless now.
Shit like this results in an automatic “No Tip” from me.
I’ve started to do that. If I don’t see 10-20% options, I’ve started doing no tip–even if I would have tipped more.
It irks me.
They’d done some data analysis and I guess if you show higher percentages people just click them. So I am bringing it back to reality with my 0%.
Many people habitually click the lowest option, so they made the lowest option outrageously high. Fuck tips, I always go for a flat zero.
Custom tip > -100%
If the system is shitty enough to allow negative tips then I would also think it might be shitty enough to do something like treat it as unsigned and add a 4,294,967,196% tip.
If the tip starts at 30% I’m no-tipping and never returning
I’d hit no tip because I left a tip on the table for the waiter. Fuck the establishment getting a cut of the tip. I understand being in the waiters position though and if they wants to report that on their slip they can. I probably wouldn’t tho, I’ve had managers that told me not to worry about it but don’t bring it up with the owner.
At a bagel place I used to go to, the person behind the counter said not to bother leaving a tip on the machine because the owners just took that. I came back the next time with cash and a printout of the law that shows that is considered wage theft and the Department of Labor number to call.
said not to bother leaving a tip on the machine because the owners just took that.
What a disgusting human that is. How low do you have to be?
How low do you have to be?
Conservatively low.
If I’m at a place where there is no service involved and I see a tip menu, I never return. I’ll usually leave a review, too, so they know why.
Custom tip: -30%
I really want to try that sometime now 😅
There’s a custom button.
I wonder if it accepts “fuck you”.
So much edge, careful, sweetheart.
No tip is a better choice in this case.
Custom tip: 1 cent
I don’t mind tipping even at casual cafes and stuff because I used to work at a pizza place and the tips helped a lot. But if the LOWEST option is 30% I’m selecting no tip.
I find no need to tip for someone filling a cup of coffee and setting it on the counter. Maybe if they’re making some complicated drink but even then…come on
You can always do “custom tip” for the standard 20%. Fuck them for starting at 30, though.
for the standard 20%.
for the standard 0%.
The standard I grew up with was 15%. Excellent service got 20%. Subpar service got 10%. Horrible service got 0%.
And that was paid AFTER you actually had service. I’m not tipping up front when I don’t know what kind of food/service I’m getting. So many places are asking for a tip when you pay for a drink/meal that they just call out your name/number. You’re not even bringing me the food, you’re just making it and slapping it on a counter. What am I tipping for? You making the food? Isn’t that why you get paid? Servers that bring you food and take your orders I get because they’re being shafted on wages from stupid bullshit laws.
Honestly, when did the “standard” become 20 %?? I was used to the “standard” being 10 %, and then someone went around acting like it was 15, now 20… people do realise that the tips increase linearly with inflation when you keep the tip percentage constant… right?
Make it stop.
There’s a “No tip” button.
The way I see people just panic and hit things without reading is so bizarre. Just breathe. Pause. Read the screen. The line can wait. You are not being a burden on those around you by taking a moment.
I read the screen and panic cause I have to do calculations in my head instead of having a reasonable tip option. Then, I end up tipping too much anyways cause I’m sitting there, staring, and they know I don’t want to tip them as much as they want.
Tldr: I panic because they’re watching me.
Move the decimal place one to the left of the subtotal. (Don’t tip on taxes lol.) Say, $59 becomes $5.90. Then multiply by two. So tip roughly $12. Even if you mess up and round down when you shouldn’t, at worst you’d only tip $1.80 less than you “should”.
My main issue is that the default buttons start at 30%. I usually tip between 10-30% depending on service. With somewhere between 18-20% being standard.
10% be like, you didn’t really do a great job but I know they’re not paying you enough
15% is like, you did your job and didn’t screw up in any major way, but there was nothing notable about the experience.
Around 20% being more like, you did good, thanks!
And 30% is basically for being a mind reader that can predict my every need before I have it. Things like coming by with refills before ours are empty (for things with free refills), getting condiments ready/at the table either before, or while my food arrives, etc. Along with all the “expected” kindnesses and whatnot.
Unless my experience was genuinely negative, i pretty much always leave a tip.
50% is nuts. 30% as a minimum raises a lot of concerns for me, like the person programming the payment system is somehow getting a cut.
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You don’t need to do anything. Don’t let tip creep feel normalized. Keep tipping whatever you want. Let the next sucker do 30%
IMO, it needs to go the other way. Make tipping matter again by paying servers a decent wage.
like the person programming the payment system is somehow getting a cut.
I mean, they probably are. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stripe gets a cut with every sale they make. We know credit card companies like Visa get a cut.
Unless it’s cash, everyone in line including the government gets a cut.
I’m gonna start pretending I don’t know what a tip is and ask the person to explain.
That’s certain to make the person, who has no control over the POS, have a better day at their wage-slave job.
Well, I’d argue that if enough people complain to the person and they in turn complain to their boss, something might change.
That’s how I’ve learned to get my boss to improve stuff around the workplace. Whenever I notice something that can be improved I don’t say “I think we should do x”. I say “clients have been complaining about this, we should do x.” He’s a lot more receptive when I say that.
In a restaurant complaining to the boss = more likely to lose your job.
Depends how you complain. I meant saying something along the lines of “hey, another 10 people complained about the POS, can we do something about it?”
If that gets you fired then I’m sorry about the toxic work culture. Over here it’s not like that.
Why not talk directly to the manager instead of giving a minimum wage employee more stress?
I never said I’d yell at the guy or anything. Just point out that it’s not a cool thing to do and to please let the one responsible know about it. I don’t think that’s putting stress on the person, the same way I don’t get stressed when others complain to me about things.
POS systems are probably put in place by corporate, not the restaurant manager. In other words, the restaurant manager has no say in what the POS system says. Same goes for other businesses like grocery stores and the like.
You would have to have them get serious negative press in order to change that.
You’re probably not a wage slave if you’re getting a 50% kickback on everything your employer sells.
I don’t think there’s much guarantee that any tips given via kiosk are shared in full or in part with the employee in front of you.
When I’m in doubt, I ask, and so far the answer has always been yes, they get the tips.
But do they REALLY know?
I think people know if they’re getting paid or not.
but do they know if their employer is giving them the full amount of the tip?
Sure, the percentages offered are terribly high, but people should be able to set a custom tip so I doubt many choose 50%
In USAland, a tip is an extra pay on top of whatever you paid for, which is supposed to go straight to the worker that served you. They expect tips because their salaries are criminally low and “it makes people work better”
Wait, but why doesn’t the business just pay them better?
They don’t have to, legally. Some asshole managed to convince Congress that all restaurants would go out of business if they had to pay minimum wage back in the 1930s when minimum wage was set up. Because of said cheap rich asshole, there is a normal minimum wage which is $7.25/hr, and a service minimum wage which is $2.13/hr.
In theory the restaurant is supposed to ensure that you make at least minimum wage. In practice they just fire you if you dare to ask for minimum compensation.
Does not apply in California, Massachusetts, or NY, that I am aware of
Wait, but if I tip, wouldn’t it just be the same as if the business charged more and paid their employees properly?
Well yes, but then they’d have to pay their employees out of their money, instead of relying on the kindness of their customers.
But isn’t that what they’re supposed to do?
Ahh, I see the confusion. This is the US where you do anything you can to screw others out of money so maybe you can retire about 30 minutes before you die.
there is a normal minimum wage which is $7.25/hr
Just a note on this: while federal minimum wage is actually that low, many states individually set much higher minimum wages.
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“Hi! I’m german.”
idk why any of you act like there’s more than one right answer here. it’s on the bottom right.
Even odds that place is commiting wage theft.
