Woman questions tipping culture after register asks for tip at grocery store self-checkout

During the last few years, many people have taken to the internet to complain about tipping culture.

The latest is a woman named Minna, who took to TikTok to vow that she will never be “pressured” into tipping on every little thing. “Tipping culture in 2024 - i will always pay well and tip well for service but i’m not getting peer pressured by a tablet anymore in situations that dont call for it,” her video’s caption read.

“Before you start thinking I’m stingy or something, for service, I will definitely pay 20 to 25 percent on all of it,” she said in her clip after making her vow to avoid “unnecessary tipping. “Restaurants, coffee, beauty services, like haircuts and things like that.”

“But the tablet tipping culture has gotten so out of control to the point where I now walk into a retail store and get a greeting card, like pick one out myself, go up to the register and check out and there is a 20 percent suggestion waiting for me,” she continued.

She explained that she’s also heard of tablets asking for tips even at “serve-yourself” yoghurt stores, but still didn’t think it made sense when there was no one physically helping to earn the tip.

Minna noted that she understands that the store’s employees are regularly given unfair wages which is why they rely on the benefits that the extra tips provide them with. However, she said that the system placed “an unfair burden on the consumer.”

The video ended with the TikToker saying she would no longer tip at “retail stores where no one is really helping you, like any retail, not just clothing and stuff.”

“We will be strong in 2024,” Minna said.

After posting, her video went on to receive over 400,000 views with many people turning to the comments agreeing with her point and talking about their own experiences with tipping.

“I booked a hotel room ONLINE and it asked for a tip. Like who am I tipping?? A website?? It’s insane,” one commenter wrote.

“I ended up tipping $6 at a merch stand to a guy who handed me a tee shirt because I was so confused at what was happening,” another story in the comments read.

“My dermatologist has a tip screen. I’m beyond baffled as to who that’s for,” a third person wrote.

This isn’t the first time someone has questioned tipping culture. A woman named Kaidi Dey took to TikTok last month to explain that she is originally from Estonia but is currently living in the US. She shared that she understood the general tipping culture in the US, but wasn’t sure how much to tip during the holidays.

In her video, Dey said that her local sanitation workers had left her a Christmas card back in November, which her father-in-law informed her meant that the workers expected a tip for the holidays. “Happy holidays, the best wishes for you and your family, from your sanitation crew,” the letter read.

Despite the holiday card, she wasn’t sure if she should tip them and if she did, how much to give them. “I realise that everybody in America tips for everything,” she said. “I do tip for a lot of things, like my hair stylist for example, or if I get a massage or something like that.

“But I find it rather odd that you have to also tip for sanitation workers.”