Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
I&#x27;ve just opened a coffee shop in Los Angeles last month, and we don&#x27;t take tips. We only use self-ordering iPads (I&#x27;ve custom coded an iOS app w&#x2F; Stripe Terminal for it), and we don&#x27;t accept cash either.<p>We&#x27;ve had a few customers baffled by the no-tipping policy, and still insisting that they leave a tip. Some even left cash on the counter or on the table. We had to chase a few of them down to return their money. Also, some customers seem to think that the screen froze at the very end because it didn&#x27;t ask for a tip.<p>While it has been strange to see some customer&#x27;s determination to leave a tip, I think overall it was well received by the great majority of people that just didn&#x27;t say anything about it and made a mental note that the prices they see on the menu is what they&#x27;ll actually end up paying.<p>We will probably need to highlight that we pay a higher wage for baristas &amp; cooks to account for the lack of tips, and give customers an option to donate to a charity if they still wish to part with additional money.<p>I do believe that the incentive tips provide for employees to &quot;act&quot; friendly to customers can be transferred over into a review&#x2F;feedback program, which is what we will be testing out. If customers rate their order and interaction with the barista to be satisfactory, a bonus payment will be made to the baristas on shift. Once we introduce this, I&#x27;ll share the results.