Self-checkout machines are beginning to ask for tips
Talk about the evolution of AI and machines taking over...
The future of shopping has become exactly what we didn't want it to become, people-less.
Many stores in the US have replaced cashiers with self-checkout machines.
And although some people may be of the opinion that this is a much easier and more efficient way of checking out your shopping, we think many are on the fence about it.
Read more: The top five mistakes we make while shopping
Now that many people are adapting to these self-checkout machines, there is another development that has many up in arms.
A new trend sees many self-checkout machines asking for tips from customers.
"Consumers already contending with a squeeze on their bank accounts due to inflation are now facing more pressure as businesses introduce new tipping features at self-checkout machines." (Fox 32 Chicago)
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, companies like airports, bakeries, coffee shops, and sports stadiums have included a "self-serve tipping option, where customers can leave tips including the typical 20%, despite facing minimal to no interaction with any employee".
As you might imagine, many people are not at all happy about this. Tipping is conventionally known as something that we do for someone who has provided a service to us and interacted with us in some way or the other.
The question on many customers' minds are, where do the tips go if they are doing everything themselves on the self-service checkouts?
For more from East Coast Radio
Susan Miller: "Absolutely not! Tipping / gratuity is for services I receive. If I’m doing the work, I’m tipping myself for good service, not the machine I’m using to check myself out. Good gravy."
Hollie Anzalone: "I’m not going to bash the self checkout, because I use it a lot. I have extreme social anxiety, and a self checkout is a godsend for someone like me. But I’m not going to tip anyone unless they actually helped me."
Patches O'Houlihan: "I have no problem with selecting no tip. It’s easier for me to tell a machine no anyways."
Of course, the tips are not mandatory but have left people irate that companies are not efficiently communicating where these tips are going.
What do you think? Is it fair for self-checkout machines to be tipped?
HOW TO LISTEN TO EAST COAST RADIO
- Listen to East Coast Radio on the FM (frequency modulation) spectrum between 94 and 95 FM on your radio.
- Listen live to ECR by clicking here or download the ECR App (iOS/Android).
- Listen to East Coast Radio on the DStv audio bouquet, channel 836.
- Switch to the audio bouquet on your Openview decoder and browse to channel 606
- Listen to us on Amazon Alexa.
Image Courtesy of Facebook