Should you say “yes” to automatic tipping?

Automatic tipping is everywhere, and it’s time to do something about it.

I saw it at a pizza restaurant in Provo, Utah, recently. When I paid for my order, the electronic payment system asked if I wanted to tip 10% (cheapskate!), 15% (better!) or the correct amount, 20%. No, the touchpad didn’t actually comment on the choices, but the incorrect selection was clear: the “no tip” box that wasn’t highlighted.

It was a takeout order, for goodness sake.

Tipping is a confusing ritual for consumers. Coffee shops, hair salons and fast-food restaurants now actively solicit tips from their customers. But automatic tipping takes it to the next level. When a business either strongly suggests a tip or just adds a gratuity to your bill hoping you won’t dispute it, that feels wrong.

Automatic tipping takes gratuities to the next level

Consider what happened to Joshua Zweighaft, a New York-based travel consultant. When he ordered a beer at a poolside bar at an upscale hotel in San Jose, California, it added an 18% gratuity for his “convenience.”

“I paid it,” he says. “But did not leave an additional tip. I hope the gratuity went to the bartender.”