A customer who was set to pay $31.50 for her son’s haircut was horrified to find that there was a 69% tip option on the payment tablet.
That customer, known as Amanda S on TikTok (@happilyeverafter69), posted a photo of the tipping screen on Feb. 6, getting more than 537,000 views as of Sunday. She also chose the Danger Twins’ “Showin’ Off” to soundtrack it, focusing on the “I can’t believe my eyes” lyric.
The tipping screen had four options on it, starting at 20% for “Good,” before moving on to 35% for “Great,” 50% for “Wow!” and 69% for “Best Service Ever!” She found these options to be not so nice, despite the presence of a custom button on the iPad to bypass the four suggested amounts.
Tipping has become a sore subject for a number of consumers of late, particularly as they encounter iPad screens set up to collect tips that may or may not be warranted. In one recent Daily Dot story, Redditors discussed a bar that apparently “flipped” tipping percentages, putting the higher amount on the left rather than the right to counter expectations—and to possibly trick inattentive people into tipping more than they intended.
A Real Simple article on tipping hair stylists advised, “Always go with the golden rule of 20%,” but also provided one exception: “Tip your hairdresser a little extra around the holidays (an additional 10% should do it) as a generous bonus.”
The article also noted that if you’re using a coupon or otherwise are receiving a discount, “Tip 20% on the true total cost of the service, not the discounted cost. The hairdresser did the same amount of work, so they deserve the same amount of tip.”
That article did not suggest tips of 50% or 69%.
Commenters to this TikTok content shared Amanda’s alarm.
“American tipping culture is wild,” one noted.
Another said, “My favorite is at gas stations … like I pumped my own gas … why am I tipping lol.”
Someone else observed, “Our Subway has a shame-note next to the machine that says workers rely on your tip for a living.” That person added, “It’s illegal for you not to pay your workers.”
Finally, one said, “No one tips me at my job.”
That led Amanda to observe that when she babysits, she doesn’t get a tip, leading her to wonder, “Who made the decision on which services we tip and what ones we don’t? Like, why don’t we tip the plumber?”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amanda via TikTok direct message.
