Forced Tipping VS Delayed Tipping

Tipping can be awkward. Sure, 18–20% at a restaurant is standard in America, but what about at an auto parts store? A bookstore? Or a deli? These new POS systems such as Square, Revel, or PayPal will usually prompt you to swipe your card, sign, then put in the tip, with the clerk watching your every move. This makes it awkward for everyone. There are times I don’t want to offend the clerk but other times where I feel a tip truly isn’t necessary. There are two solutions that could solve this, one already exists but should be more prevalent and the other has yet to be developed.

The Existing Option: Keep the terminal out of sight from the clerk

Square has the function where the iPad terminal will flip away from the clerk. You can leave whatever tip you feel is fair without the pressure of doing it right in front of them. More systems should allow this option.

The Delayed Tip Option

The receipts from these smart terminals are sent to your phone. Why can’t the tip option also be sent there too? It would be an interesting feature for Square, Revel Systems, PayPal Engineering, to test. What would the data show of delayed tipping? My first thought was that it could be lower, but if the story is memorable and the staff was remarkable, I’m sure you’d find some interesting outliers.

It’s worth a shot.

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