The problem is that it is increasingly being seen as rude to decline in situations where there was never any expectation of a tip before.
Business owners are configuring point-of-sale devices to prompt for tips because it's free money for them. It means they can get away with paying their employees less than they otherwise would.
Then don't be afraid to be rude. I'm not tipping a self checkout machine. If labor costs are that high, charge more for the product or service. If that means it cost too much, find another solution
It depends. If it's specified that you're leaving a tip then the law says it has to go into workers' pockets; managers and owners aren't allowed to take any of that. But if it's listed as a service charge (or similar) then the law says managers/owners can do whatever they like with it, including giving literally none of it to the workers.
Went to Carvel a few times. Last two times they had a "how was our service, tip:" screen when I was paying..
Girl I watched you hold a button on a machine for 5 seconds and you want 10%+?
Yeah the POS machines in NZ have shipped with this options for the last couple years and many merchants hate it, they know their customers don't want it, v they don't want it cause it loses them future business, and it's a huge hassle to get it disabled with many not having the technical expertise to understand how to disable it.
She isn't the one who configured the point-of-sale device to ask for tips. The manager/owner did that. And they did it specifically to get more money from you so that they can get away with paying her less than she would otherwise get. And she has to put up with people getting pissed at her because they don't like being asked to leave a tip.
In other words, I recommend having a little sympathy here. She's a bigger victim of this problem than you are.
I sent my buddy to an event to get a $60 autograph for my son, he let's me know the total is $66, because it seems like the folks handling the money added a 10% payment. A step below a cashier.
Went to a hockey game earlier this year. there was a full self serve 7-11 kiosk. The only "staff" member was a security guard posted at the entrance to go make sure you paid. no human interaction at all, and the self serve kiosk asked for a tip....
I ordered carryout from a local pizza place by me. They normally do square cut, but I prefer pie cut (relevant later).
I specifically chose carryout (as I always do), because I have a car that I pay for insurance, registration, and it has gas in it; I'm going to use it. I'm not going to pay extra for delivery fee and tip when I can drive to the store myself.
When I got to the store, this almost overly friendly lady was working the store. "Hello sir! Are you the carryout order? Medium pepperoni green olives, cheese bread, and a 2 liter? I've got you right here sir, just came out of the oven! I even taped up your marinara sauce to the box so it doesn't slide around on the drive home. How is your day going sir? I hope you're having a lovely day" that sort of thing. It was a pleasant experience, and I greeted her with a smile and the same friendliness she welcomed me with.
She hands me the food and the receipt to sign. I draw a line through the tip (as I always do, I'm not tipping when I'm driving to the store to pick it up myself), circle the total, and sign my name. She immediately scoops up the receipt, analyzes it, and sees no tip, and her demeanor changed instantly. Smile wiped clean off her face, she's now aggressively punching in the receipt total into the POS system, cash drawer opens, she slams it shut. I go "thank you, have a great rest of your day" and she just looks me up and down and goes "mhmm..".
Best part of the story? I get home and the pizza isn't even pie cut. You want a damn tip but you can't pay attention to basic detail? I put "Pie Cut - Jake" as my fucking name for the order, in addition to selecting the built in "PIE CUT" special instruction on the online order. I worked at a pizza place through high school and college, only drivers ever got tips. You want tips, drive, but then again, her car is probably the one I spotted in the parking lot on the way in that had whiskey plates on it.
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u/zztop610 9h ago
I’ve seen self checkout counters asking for tips