“The Controversy Surrounding Tipping on Machine Checkouts: Where Does Your Money Really Go?”

The “tip” is a normal practice across the Atlantic and even the machines now ask for it… without customers knowing clearly where their money is going.

A real institution in Anglo-Saxon countries, tipping (or “tip”) is more than an extra, it’s practically compulsory, especially in the United States where the service is not included in the price, as in France. .

As a result, credit card terminals directly offer the possibility of leaving a tip (generally 20% of the bill) before paying. Except that this is now also the case with automatic checkouts.

In airports, bakeries or stadiums, the machine offers to leave a “tip”, even if you did not see the trace of a human during the transaction. And these permanent solicitations are seriously starting to tire.

“Emotional Blackmail”

“They cut labor costs by doing self-service checkouts. So what’s the point of asking for a tip? And where does it go?” asks an academic in the Wall Street Journal.

With the American daily, another customer denounces the “emotional blackmail” of tipping, especially when the price of his bottle of water, already high at the airport, has taken another 20%.

For their part, the companies ensure that this money is redistributed to the staff, as required by the various federal and local laws. But for Holona Ochs, professor at the University of Lehig, the tips on the machines will not necessarily arrive in the pockets of humans, because the machines are not affected by the rules in force. For them, these new practices are “a way to generate more revenue for the company”.

In the United States but also in France, tips are also a controversial method for some employers not to increase the fixed salaries of employees.