Tipping has long been a popular topic of discussion on the internet, with many users taking to social media to share their stories of tipping requests that didn’t quite make sense.
For example, one user posted a video in which they claimed they were asked to tip at a self-checkout. Another alleged she was requested to tip over $80 for Target home delivery, while a further user detailed how the standard tipping options at a barbershop started at 50%.
Now, another internet user has sparked debate after showing a Chili’s Ziosk machine that does not allow a customer to tip any less than 20%.
A Chili’s tablet with a 20% tip
In a video with over 964,000 views, TikTok user @baldnewsbackup overlays himself on a video of something trying to change their tip at Chili’s. According to the TikToker, this amounts to people “now being forced to give 20% tips.”
Not only can the customer not change their tip, but the TikToker notes that the actual tip amount is significantly higher than the 20% claimed on the screen.
“His check amount is 18.98. At a 20% tip, it would be 15.19 cents? What?” he asks, observing the automatic gratuity in the video. “20% tip would only be $3.79.” He later notes that $15.19 is 80% of the original total.
“Would you have paid?” he asks viewers in conclusion.
A possible explanation
This isn’t the first time this video has found its way onto the internet. The clip was recently posted to the subreddit r/yesyesyesyesno, where it accrued over 4.2k upvotes and nearly 300 comments.
In response to the video, several users offered potential explanations for what could be seen in the video.
“It says the tip is calculated before discounts so if op got roughly a 75% discount on the food the machine is printing the correct amount for 20% tip,” wrote a commenter.
“That also may be why the tip is locked at 20%...large party,” added another.
“I work at chilis. This is just a problem with the ziosk,” said a third. “You can just ask a manager or server and they’ll restart it or just manually process your card like we used to do before these thingies were around.”
Commenters aren’t happy
Regardless of why this happened, users in the TikTok comments section aren’t thrilled.
“I would call the manager over and if they didn’t fix it, call the police,” shared a commenter.
“That's why I started paying in cash again,” stated a second.
“It's also wrong for the customer to pay the waitresses salary instead of the employers,” declared a third.
“There's a Mexican fast food place by my house. Their tip options are 30%, 33%, or 35% with no option to decline it or custom,” claimed a further TikTok user. “I just left the food.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Chili’s and @baldnewsbackup via email.
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