The discussion of tipping at restaurants that have not historically asked customers for extra cash is a popular topic on TikTok, where viewers are largely divided on the subject.
Many users are of the mind that customers should always tip no matter what when presented with the opportunity, while others feel it should not be incumbent on the customer to pay the folks serving them a living wage, and that the responsibility should fall on the restaurant or business.
In recent years, the point-of-sale systems used by popular businesses have included a built-in tipping option that can be enabled by business owners. Some customers have reported being asked to tip at businesses known to pay employees more than the tipped wage, such as Starbucks, Crumbl Cookies, and according to a recent video shared by user @samiekhogiani, Subway.
In the video, the poster shows a point-of-sale terminal asking if he would like to tip the sandwich artist or artists who made their order 15%, 18%, or 20%.
“lol when did subway start asking for tips,” the video is captioned.
@samiekhogiani lol when did subway start asking for tips… #subwayeatfresh #tippingculture ♬ original sound – samiekhogiani
The Daily Dot has reached out to @samiekhogiani via comment on the video as other methods of contact were not available, as well as to Subway directly via email.
Several viewers called this an example of tipping culture going too far.
“Tipping culture is out of control,” one commenter wrote. “Take out or fast food im pressing that no tip button so fast.”
“lol right..I saw that the other day and laughed,” another commented. “no way I’m I tipping for them putting a tomato on my sandwich.”
“Haha people think they should get tipped for everything,” a third claimed. “Not even good service anymore.”
Because the tipping mechanism is built into the point-of-sale system for cards, some viewers shared they had started carrying cash again to avoid being asked to tip in retail and fast food settings.
“Why I’m starting to pay in cash again,” one user commented. “Every place I go now minus the grocery store is always the tip on the machine.”
“I started paying with cash to avoid this,” another viewer wrote.
