Picture this. You walk into a restaurant you love, tap out your own order on a screen, pour your own drink, carry your own dishes to the trash at the end, and then the screen asks if you would like to add a twenty, twenty-five or thirty percent tip. One diner says that is exactly what happened to him, and he is not letting it go.
The story comes from @grant_f_oster, who opens by saying tipping culture has gotten so wildly out of hand that he struggles to put it into words. He is careful to say he is not out to bash the restaurant. He keeps its name to himself because he is a big fan, says the staff is always amazing, and says he has never had a bad meal or bad service there.
What changed was the way he was asked to pay.
@grant_f_oster
A brand-new kiosk and a very full to-do list
On this visit, he says, the restaurant had a brand-new self-serve kiosk. He walked up, picked his food, picked his drink, and chose to pay by credit card. That is when the screen asked whether he wanted to leave twenty, twenty-five or thirty percent for the kiosk.
He tapped no tip. But the more he thought about it, the more the details piled up. There was also a self-serve drink station, so nobody was coming around to check on his glass. When you finish eating, he says, you are expected to take your dishes to the trash can, wipe them out as best you can, and stack them. He says he always does that where it is the rule.
The only person he really dealt with was the one who carried the food out of the kitchen. That person set the plate down, said here you go, he said thank you, and they went right back into the kitchen. There was no reason for them to check on the drinks or clear the table, because the customer was doing all of that himself.
His question to everyone was whether he is the dramatic one for thinking it is absolutely insane for a kiosk, a computer, to ask him to tip it twenty, twenty-five or thirty percent.
Why this keeps happening
If you feel like you are being asked for a tip more often than you used to be, you are not imagining it. Touchscreen payment systems make a tip prompt easy to add, and many are set up to show up at the end of nearly every transaction, even at counters and kiosks where there is no table service at all. The screen is not a person, but a person at the business chose that setting.
Tip prompts also tend to default to big percentages. When the choices on the screen are twenty, twenty-five and thirty, the lowest button already looks like the minimum. That is by design, and it nudges people to pick one without thinking.
What you can do at the kiosk
- Look for the custom or no-tip button. It is almost always there, though it can be small or tucked below the big buttons. You are allowed to choose it.
- Ask who gets the tip. If you are curious, ask the person at the counter whether tips on the kiosk go to the kitchen or the staff. Some places share them with everyone who worked the shift.
- Tip for the service you actually received. If someone brings your food, busses a table, or goes out of their way, a few dollars in cash or on the card is a nice gesture. You decide that, not the screen.
- Tell the owner, kindly. If you are a regular like @grant_f_oster and love the place, a quick friendly word that the prompt felt like too much can help. Owners often have no idea how it comes across.
A fair way to think about it
Tipping started as a thank-you for personal service at your table. When there is no table service, a good rule of thumb is that the tip should be small, optional and entirely up to you. Many people leave a dollar or two for counter service when the staff goes above and beyond, and nothing at all for a self-serve setup where they did the work themselves.
None of this means the people working there are not deserving or hardworking. Restaurant workers have a tough job, and the question is really about who sets the rules. When the business changes how it serves you, it is fair to ask whether the tip request should change too.
Whatever you decide, the next time a screen asks for thirty percent, take a breath, look at what you actually did and what was done for you, and pick the button that feels fair.
One last practical tip: if you are on a budget, keep a few dollar bills in your pocket. That way, when a tip is truly deserved, you can hand it over directly and skip the screen entirely.
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