As she was about to check out, the cashier asked her to pay a huge tip for the grocery bill and the internet was not having it.
It's quite reasonable to offer a certain amount of tips to service workers. It's a common practice in America, especially considering the minimum wage is still very low in many states. However, recently tablet tipping has become widespread in many retail stores and is receiving a lot of backlash on the internet. Ev, @incrediboii, was one among the many who hated tablet tipping and she shared one of her shocking experiences on TikTok. In the video, Ev spoke about how a grocery store tried to collect a 25% tip from her and people were astounded by how they expected a tip despite not doing any kind of service.
Ev made this video as a stitch with Minna (@livingminnaly) who also shared the same opinion about tablet tipping. Minna posted a video saying that she decided not to unnecessarily tip battling with the people pleaser in her. For people who thought she was stingy, Minna said, "For service, I will definitely pay 20 to 25% on all of it - restaurants, coffee, beauty services and things like that. But the tablet tipping culture has gotten so out of control." She pointed out how even if she shopped for a small greeting card, she was suggested to tip 20% on the bill. She highlighted that it wasn't okay for customers to compensate for the low wages that businesses pay to the employees.
Following Minna's lead, Ev too expressed her disapproval of unnecessary tipping and captioned her video, "No more! Hold the line." So, when Ev and her boyfriend were visiting a grocery store called Tiny Grocery in Austin, they just picked up a few things like cheese, wine, and cured meat. They were going to have a little date night and had to shop for it. "I expected it to be more expensive than your regular grocery store," said Ev. But what she didn't expect when the cashier rang her up was, being asked for a 25% tip during the checkout. Ev was so flabbergasted that she gave the cashier a shocked look.
The woman simply bought the stuff she needed and left the place still in a state of astonishment. She couldn't believe that she was expected to give a $10 tip for a $40 grocery bill. Ev said that she couldn't get this incident out of her mind for days. Not just Minna and Ev but there are many people out there who believe that such unfair tipping for a service that wasn't provided is absolutely unnecessary. Some of them expressed their disappointment in the comments section and rallied around Ev's viewpoint.
"I would have laughed because I’m a server part-time and like, you scanned my food items I was the one that walked around and got them myself!" commented @katue.1. "My Botox/lip filler NURSE PRACTITIONER had a tipping option. Like what?? You make $125k a year," wrote @cj_gillis85. "I recently purchased my wedding dress at a boutique, and they asked me for a tip when I paid. Outrageous," commented @vannanori. "I’ll tip for delivery and for being served by a waiter/waitress. Tipping has gotten out of hand!" wrote @oliviaincolor.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 25, 2024. It has since been updated.