3 On Your Side: To Tip Or Not To Tip When Using Digital Check-Out
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- New digital check-out systems are on the rise. Whether you pay using an app, or swipe and tap a screen, they're popping up all over the place. But as 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds, in some places it also has people asking the question, to tip or not to tip?
When a customer pays for their coffee with plastic on this digital check-out system, cashier Zoe Katsaros knows it could be an opportunity to take home some extra money. She says, "I'm definitely more motivated to work harder to make a connection with whomever is at the register."
Experts say these computerized check-out programs give customers the option to add a gratuity at the touch of a button. One survey found that 41 percent of people said they are somewhat, to definitely more likely, to leave a tip if the server or cashier is in close proximity.
Justin Guinn of Software Advice says, "There may be some elements of social pressure there; having the server looking at you while you're completing the payment process. that could certainly drive people to perhaps tip more."
Which leaves customers with this new digital dilemma: to tip or not to tip in cafes and coffee shops where before they may have grabbed their coffee and run.
Digital gratuity has definitely changed how they think about tipping. Customer Randon Tartahello "I like the idea of it because some people can't do the math in their head." While customer Brandon Colby says, "I guess I could see how some people would feel a pressure to tip, but I don't feel pressure."
Additionally that survey found that if a "No Tip" button is included on a digital check out screen, 29 percent would rather tip - than hit "No Tip."