180 points

Bet this was at a pickup counter for a restaurant with no table service

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77 points

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.

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24 points

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?

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22 points

I had a coffee vending machine in the airport asking for a tip. Incredible.

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3 points

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

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25 points

And that’s why I don’t feel guilty not tipping some places. What am I tipping for? Nothing.

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11 points

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?

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2 points

What am I tipping for?

The owners to pay their employees below poverty wages.

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146 points

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.

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71 points
*

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.

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12 points

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.

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7 points

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.”

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11 points

That’s illegal, FYI.

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12 points
*

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.

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5 points

it absolutely is but no one has the money to take an employer to court even if it’s a slam dunk case

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3 points

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.

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1 point

So how this legal ?

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1 point

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.

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26 points

If I walk in a pick something up, no tip.

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21 points

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.

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116 points
*

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

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1 point

I agree with everything except the cowering part. Ask them if they’re insane.

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1 point

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.

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1 point

^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.

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105 points

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.

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40 points

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?

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26 points
3 points

And saved. Thank you.

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3 points

Exactly what I was thinking of, thank you!

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3 points

Yeah I remember that

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8 points

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.

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6 points

They’ll be replaced with AI anyway if they keep demanding tips like that.

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14 points

AI will still ask for tips.

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5 points

400%

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2 points

Somebody a while back posted pictures of self-checkout kiosks asking for tips.

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4 points

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.

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3 points

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.

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98 points

If the tip starts at 30% I’m no-tipping and never returning

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16 points

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.

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26 points

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.

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4 points

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?

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3 points

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.

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2 points

Custom tip: -30%

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2 points

I really want to try that sometime now 😅

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-45 points

There’s a custom button.

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45 points

No tip is a better choice in this case.

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4 points

Custom tip: 1 cent

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7 points

I wonder if it accepts “fuck you”.

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-7 points

So much edge, careful, sweetheart.

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