Political commentator and author Michael Knowles’ viral self-checkout video from 2023 has resurfaced on Reddit amid the ongoing tipping debate. Many have fixated on an alternative; the internet is calling it ‘negative tipping’ and has suggested ways to go about it.
Knowles first posted the video on July 11, 2023, on his TikTok account @notmichaelknowles. The American author was at an airport’s self-checkout kiosk buying himself a beverage. On noticing the lack of staff, he wanted to share something shocking with followers at the time.
He went to the beverage unit and bought a bottle of premium water, Perrier, and headed for checkout. Instead of a cashier, he was met with an automated machine that helps the customer with the bill without human assistance, hence the term.
@notmichaelknowles A robot just asked me for a tip
♬ original sound - Michael Knowles
Knowles recorded the process, scanning the item before turning the camera to show viewers what appeared on the screen. Once he finished scanning the green bottle, he selected ‘Next.’
Immediately, the automated message asked if he wanted to leave a tip or not. And the tip ranged between 64 cents and $50.36, which he was befuddled by. Knowles turned the camera back to himself and repeated the machine’s question.
With a smile, he explained that he’d put effort into both finding and cashing the item he wanted to buy. He also wondered why there was a need to leave a tip in the first place since there were no employees around. He said, “I have not seen a single employee…The robot wants me to tip it.”
Michael Knowles’ Resurfaced Video Sparked Conversations About Negative Tipping
Since sharing it in 2023, Knowles’ post got over 113,000 views as of publication. The viral clip has now resurfaced on Reddit years later, sparking conversations about negative tipping.
Reddit user u/GalerianGengar shared the TikTok in r/mildlyinfuriating. The post went viral with over 49,000 upvotes as of publication, filled with suggestions of negative tipping.
One user noticed a 'custom' tip option and said they had attempted to enter a negative tip amount.
The user also claimed that it worked once, but mentioned, “I get it, everyone, it shouldn’t work and I agree.” They added, “But for whatever reason, this particular machine had a minus sign as an option on the screen…”
Another jokingly commented, “You can lower the bill by 500%, 600%, some people are even saying 1000%.” Many others claimed they’d try out the new hack to see if it’s truly effective or not.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify whether entering a negative tip amount at self-checkout kiosks is possible or has produced the results described by commenters. The details above reflect the accounts as shared on TikTok by @notmichaelknowles and on Reddit by u/GalerianGengar.
