When a cashier asks you to tip, at least you can see the face of the person you would be tipping. But who receives a tip in a self-serve kiosk?
Tipping, both in concept and in act, is a popular subject of debate on TikTok, where countless videos have been posted by folks with a variety of opinions on the matter. Some call for other customers to tip better, as others decry the act of tipping altogether.
Some customers have gone as far as being effectively banned from restaurants after they refused to tip their servers.
In between the two opinions are folks who share the strange circumstances in which they are asked to tip, either by employees or point-of-sale computer systems. One such customer of an unmanned self-service kiosk says they were asked to tip—but there was no one there to serve them.
In a video that has drawn 8.9 million viewers as of Saturday, user @lexmerico shows that her $1.99 self-service purchase of a water bottle comes with options to leave a 15%, 18%, or 20% tip, or none at all.
“For what?” she says in the video.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @lexmerico via TikTok direct message regarding the video.
Several viewers shared that they had been asked to tip at other places providing self-service.
“Had to use these at Newark airport in September and the rage that built inside when it asked for a tip,” one commenter wrote.
“Lol my $18 beer at the Seahawks at the self serve store and self checkout wanted a tip,” another commenter wrote.
“They wanted me to tip at the drive thru car wash,” a commenter wrote.
Others wondered what the tip might be used for.
“I was wondering if they pay the workers trash money when they restock the shop and clean it so tipping is how they get a decent pay,” a commenter wrote.
“At least with regular stores there’s usually a worker you’d be tipping…. not straight up nobody,” another commenter wrote.
“I will always tip the worker, but this is basically tipping some CEO who’s probably at home in pjs,” one commenter wrote.
