If you find tipping to be a scam, you might actually be right.
According to a video that has gone viral on social media, there’s allegedly a new scam that has customers tipping more than they think.
Instagram user @big_beau7 posted a video showing the screen of a credit card reader that read “Choose A Tip Amount.”
The screen provided options for 15%, 18%, 20% and 25% — but the dollar amounts were more than they should have been for each percentage chosen.
He wrote in the caption: “This is a pay at the table kiosk. The screen autogenerates the tip percentage options for you in hopes that you won’t look at the dollar amount it’s factoring! Every single choice was way off!”
When @big_beau7 selected the 15% tip option for his $27 bill, it generated a tip of $6.22 when it should have been $4.05.
He added in the caption that the 18% option generated $7.47 when it should have been $4.86, 20% generated $8.30 rather than $5.40, and 25% generated $10.37 rather than $6.75.
“So whenever you choose to use kiosk CHECK YOUR MATH!” he exclaimed.
Some people in the comment section noted that the screen said, “Tip is calculated after tax and before discounts” — though it’s unclear if there were any discounts on the bill or what the tax was.
“It literally says after tax and before discounts. You have a bunch of discounts on there buddy,” one person claimed.
A majority of the people in the comments were taken aback by the potential scam and by the tipping amounts in general.
“That’s a class action lawsuit waiting to happen,” one wrote.
“Why are we tipping including taxes? That’s the scam right there,” a user pointed out.
“Never TIP AFTER TAX! why would anyone tip a tax?? You’re tipping the service not the govt,” another emphasized.
“Tips are also supposed to be pre tax not post tax. Unless waitress is now working for IRS,” one person said.
“I’ve started to hit 0. I’ve always been a good tipper but I’m just getting tired of it,” someone admitted.
“Restaurants need to pay their employees, not us. We pay for the service and food. Tipping culture has gotten way out of control,” another said.
Meanwhile, a recent survey of American consumers and service workers found that 76.1% believe tipping has “gone too far” — but it’s not only diners who dread it as more than half (51%) of service workers agree, saying they would prefer to be paid a living wage and receive no tips.
A survey conducted in June 2023 revealed that two-thirds of Americans hold a negative view of tipping, and 1 in 3 Americans think tipping culture is out of control.
At the same time as some workers see a decline in tipping, the expectation to tip has also expanded.
Despite requiring zero interaction between customers and employees, self-checkout machines at venues like coffee shops, bakeries, airports and sports stadiums are being programmed with the option to leave the typical 20% tip.
Self-tipping is viewed by many customers as a way to guilt-trip the person into tipping on something when they typically wouldn’t.
