iPad Cash Registers Guilt Us Into Tipping More
I took my daughters to a fast-casual food court the other day and each restaurant had an iPad cash register, which meant that I spent 12 to 20 percent more than I would have with other payment terminals. It's too hard to say no to the tip!
With an iPad cash register, the attendant rings you up and then flips the screen around for a signature, and the tip options are listed as you sign. My options were 12, 15, or 20 percent and the numbers on the screen were huge! I was surprised they didn't have flashing lights and sounds effects to highlight the numbers even more, or the song "She Works Hard for the Money" playing in the background. I'm sure there had to be an option to skip the tip somewhere on the screen, but it must have been in tiny print or listed in a place I didn't expect it. I didn't see it. And the girl behind the counter was staring at me waiting to see which button I pressed as if her child's next pair of shoes were depending on it. I was afraid she might not hand over our order if I looked too hard for the nada option.
Should we be tipping at all at a fast casual restaurant? They're working hard and that's fantastic, but they're not providing lengthy table service or checking back several times to see if everything is okay. So maybe we tip less than usual? I didn't really know what to do, so I tipped 20 percent. I figured it was better to be generous than stingy. But I don't want to be tricked into spending extra money if the rest of you aren't tipping at all on iPad registers. Is the social etiquette to tip every time it's an option?
Deelish says one restaurant tracked a $4 increase per hour per employee because of iPad tipping. These employees are hourly employees that most likely aren't getting rich with their base pay, but with all of this iPad tipping, they might start making enough to give up dreams of becoming a CEO. Cashier jobs may turn into dream jobs.
Coffee shops and restaurants are adding these iPad pay terminals all the time, so you might be pressured to tip the next time you grab that $4 snack. Will you?