Yeah, well, my new "anchor" is no tip at all, because you pulled one too many golden eggs out of my ass. Now all you're doing is annoying the goose.
Yes, I still tip waitstaff that did actual labor to bring my meal (though with higher minimum wage in WA, I'm debating the wisdom of cutting that down a few percentage points). Any other transaction can pound sand.
This is where I'm at as well, with the added caveat that I will never tip through the prompts on those machines again, period, regardless of the nature of the establishment. If I'm tipping, it's in cash only.
This whole tipping situation makes me actively angry. I'm done with it.
Same here. I went to a grocery store yesterday, albeit a “fancy” one with unique and difficult to find products in a nice part of town. I got to the checkout which was operated by an employee who scanned a few of my overpriced items, and then, completely unexpectedly, a tip screen appeared. Before I even realized what I had done because it was a muscle reflex, I tipped $7.50 for the privilege of having a store employee scan a few items for me. I was angry at myself for going so quickly through the checkout process and letting force of habit guide my hand, but also pissed at the merchant for even having this screen turned on in the first place.
It didn’t help that the DEFAULT tip amount that was pre-selected was for 25% (the middle of 3 options). Tipping has gotten totally out of control, and you have to pay attention lest you wind up like me, tipping for everyday ordinary functions that businesses are already paying employees to do. FWIW, I am all for tipping for exceptional service, and often tip 20%+ when that’s the case, but these compulsory tip screens for every goddamn thing are just insane.
I remember reading that a primary force in this, that's often overlooked, is the payment processors having incentive to raise the overall average transaction price so their cut is larger. That's why it's become so pervasive in the software. It's not necessarily businesses looking for a larger portion of employee compensation to come from tips.
The real problem is that your business relies on tipping. Tipping should not be the norm in the first place, just charge what you actually need.