Has guilt-tipping culture gone too far?
An ex-yogurt shop employee has gone viral on TikTok after admitting she was “embarrassed” by her store’s check-out tablet that asked customers to leave a tip.
The TikToker, known only as Alison, shared her now-viral video to the social networking site last week, writing: “As an ex fast-food worker, we get embarrassed when the tablet asks you to tip. I worked frozen yogurt and had to ask for y’all to click it and if I told you to ignore it I would get yelled at.”
Alison added: “The funniest thing is that about 90% of time people would tip. Like YOU put your own yogurt in a cup. I’m just the cash lady.”
iPads and other similar-style tablets are being used in place of traditional cash registers at restaurants and coffee shops across the country, with a screen asking customers to leave a gratuity of up to 25% before they check out. This means many Americans are now tipping for takeaway coffees and to-go fast food.
Alison’s TikTok clip caught the public’s attention, racking up more than 315,300 views, with many outraged by the fact they were being asked to leave a gratuity for workers who went through minimal effort for them.
“It’s always at the weirdest job,” one complained. “Like all you did was put my cookies in a box why would I tip you 20%?”
Meanwhile, other fast food workers left comments on Alison’s video, similarly saying they were embarrassed to ask for tips.
“I JUST got confronted at my job for NOT making tips. Like maybe it’s because I spin an iPad around after charging $5 for a cupcake,” one sassily wrote.
“My bosses made me ask for tips. Like m’am, he [the customer] just bought a water bottle,” another chimed in.
However, there were also some defenders of the tip screen, with one man writing: “There’s a skip button if it’s an issue, I’m sorry.”
In her video, Alison also revealed that she never received the tips that were left by customers on the digital tablet. She did not disclose any further details, instead saying “it was a story for another video.”
However, her clip isn’t the only video on TikTok about tipping to go viral in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, a woman clocked up more than 2.9 million views after sharing a video about the pressure that comes with tipping via one of the digital tablets.
