Self-checkout tipping: Travel agents for guilt trips?

[Shawn Knight]

A hot potato: Tipping has and probably always will be an emotional topic. As technology continues to replace jobs traditionally done by humans, does the moral tug to tip for exemplary service disappear?

The Wall Street Journal recently looked into this very topic and found that in several cases, businesses are prompting customers for tips at self-checking machines even when there is zero interaction with an actual employee.

At a self-serve beer fridge at San Diego's Petco Park, 28-year-old Corey Gary was prompted to leave a tip during checkout. The IT specialist said he was confused by the message because it was not clear who he was actually tipping, but elected to leave 20 percent anyway.

When pinged for a tip on a $6 bottle of water at a self-checkout kiosk at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Garrett Bemiller said he was caught off-guard. He described the prompt as a bit of emotional blackmail and declined to tip.

While self-checking out at a cookie shop in Metairie, Louisiana, Emily Clulee and Gracie Sheppard noticed a sign asking them to consider tipping "if we made you smile." The two complied despite the fact that their only interaction with an employee was when they were asked to step aside to wait for their order.

Researchers and labor advocates label the behavior as tip creep and argue that it is a way for employers to pin the responsibility of wage increases on the consumer. Some, like Professor William Michael Lynn at Cornell University's Nolan School of Hotel Administration, believe companies are "taking advantage of an opportunity."

Companies, meanwhile, insist tips are an optional way of saying thank you for a job well done. But who are you thanking if there was no human interaction during the entire process?

What are your thoughts on the matter? Have you been prompted for a tip at a self-service kiosk? Are companies in the wrong for rattling the tip jar when no actual human interaction has occurred?

Image credit: Kiosk by Poster POS, Tip by Sam Dan Truong

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98659-self-checkout-tipping-travel-agents-guilt-trips.html

 

[GoldenGoat]

A lot of places buy checkout software and by default it is configured to ask for a tip and they don't bother to change it. If you leave a tip and you don't know who it would be going to, the answer is the CEO.

 

[madboyv1]

Unless the human interaction provides some added value to an experience beyond the expected scope of said interaction, I avoid providing a tip nowadays. Granted my bar for "added value" is exceptionally low, but it also depends on where the tip is being asked. If I go for example to a coffee shop I expect the barista or whoever to be able to accurately take my order and make it for me; it is part of their job to get it right. If it is a local mom and pop place I might throw in a little extra to support a local business but otherwise they are doing their expected job functions. I only really consider tipping when I am being waited on directly, or if said interaction is to provide me with an enrichment that I would not otherwise get under normal circumstances.

That being said, I have never provided a tip at a fully self-service kiosk the couple times I've seen them, and will continue to not do so as there is no human interaction at all and it is blatant social manipulation.

 

[Thanthan]

I live in a country where we pay people. So yea…

This entire ‘for exemplary service’ thing is dumb as balls. If someone is exemplary at their job they should get a raise or promotion.

If people tipped me every time I was diligent in my work instead of paying me an honest salary I’d be furious. I have a family to feed, and that requires stability. I provide a stable hand at work to my boss, and he takes care of me financially. That’s the bloody deal you take as an employee.

Messing with that for whatever reason is bullshit.

 

[Ohnooze]

I'm getting tired of tips for everything.
I sent my dog to dog daycare the other day and wanted a tip. What the hell?
Drive through at pizza hut...asking for a tip. I'm going to stop tipping these places.

 

[Kam7r]

Tips in the XX1st century... not here, in EU, ppl are mostly paid "decently" so we don't need it...

 

[ScottSoapbox]

My local taco joint has added a mandatory 15% "gratuity" fee to all orders.

At that point: Just. Raise. Prices.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I was all for more broadly tipping during the government overreaction of shutting down businesses to even non-server jobs.

It wasn't people's fault their job was drastically reduced and I wanted my local businesses and their employees to survive the restriction insanity.

But post-covid, I feel that many non-server workers want to keep that money coming in even though the justifications for it no longer exist. I, for one, have tipping fatigue and have recently stopped all tipping that did not exist in 2019. I also will give a lower than my normal 20-25% tip under "custom" if your default tip options start at 20% or higher. That's not how the system works and such tactics now anger me.

It's basically what happened with online ads. We were all fine with them until they became too much and then we all got ad blockers. Pushing customers can be lucrative but it can also backfire.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

I was all for more broadly tipping during the government overreaction of shutting down businesses to even non-server jobs.

It wasn't people's fault their job was drastically reduced and I wanted my local businesses and their employees to survive the restriction insanity.

But post-covid, I feel that many non-server workers want to keep that money coming in even though the justifications for it no longer exist. I, for one, have tipping fatigue and have recently stopped all tipping that did not exist in 2019. I also will give a lower than my normal 20-25% tip under "custom" if your default tip options start at 20% or higher. That's not how the system works and such tactics now anger me.

It's basically what happened with online ads. We were all fine with them until they became too much and then we all got ad blockers. Pushing customers can be lucrative but it can also backfire.

Except it was their fault, they voted for authoritarians.

 

[Kirby1]

Tipping needs to go. It has no place in a modern economy. Its a relic of old times.

 

[Kashim]

I don't want to tip anyone. Period. Not because I'm cheap, but because I believe tipping is wrong. It's almost like a form of welfare and it never ends. It encourages businesses to keep even more of their profits and give workers a lower wage because they expect the general public to pay the difference. Their argument is always that their profits are razor thin or they're barely breaking even and can't afford to pay higher wages. I call it BS. If your business is doing so poorly that you can't pay decent wages and expect customers to chip in then maybe you should just go out of business and let someone else give it a shot.

 

[Durch]

My opinion is to pay your workers a fair wage and remove tipping altogether. I'd rather see a price increase than feel obligated to leave a tip for someone who doesn't provide good service. If the service is terrible then that should be upon management to resolve the problem. There's are people who leave terrible tips and then others who feel bad for not leaving good tips. A fair wage and price increase of products would level this out.

 

[tancabean]

Tipping culture is completely out of control. It’s no longer a means of showing gratitude for great service. Lots of places have mandatory tip policies or expect you to tip prior to receiving any service. Ridiculous.

 

[Trillionsin]

I hate when I order a food delivery you have to tip before you get service. Last time I did, I tipped 20% or more just for the driver to pass by my location (literally) and go to pick up another order, deliver it, and then come back to deliver mine.

That was the last time I used a food delivery service like Grubhub or Doordash, but it was not the only time getting terrible service while leaving at least a 15% tip.

 

[p51d007]

LOL, SORRY, if you didn't go "above" what is considered normal for your job, no tip.

I know the self checkout has become a hot button item with a lot of people, who think they should lower
the price if I self checkout.
I actually like self checkout for a few reasons. It is typically faster than standing in line to check out
and, I can package things in the bags the way I want which means I'm stuck with FEWER plastic
bags.