Practices · Observable
Tip prompt with no service
A tip was requested where no worker served the customer: self-checkout, a self-order kiosk, a vending machine, grab-and-go, or a retail purchase.
A tip prompt is a software setting. It can appear on any terminal regardless of whether a person prepared, carried, or handed over anything. The most-shared tipping photos of the last three years are of exactly this: airport kiosks, self-checkout lanes, vending machines, and clothing-store tablets.
This record documents where and on what kind of screen the prompt appeared. Whether the money reaches a worker is a separate question; see the Reported tier on each record.
Spot it on your receipt
- Note what kind of machine it was: kiosk, self-checkout lane, tablet, handheld reader.
- Note whether any employee interacted with your order before payment.
- Photograph the screen with the business name or logo visible if you can.
Figures
In a 2023 Pew survey, 40% of U.S. adults opposed businesses suggesting tip amounts and 72% opposed automatic service charges.
Source: Pew Research Center
On the record
Locations with a published claim that fits
Ordered by the number of independent reports behind the claim.
No published record fits this practice yet.
Law
The federal baseline
No federal law requires or forbids a tip prompt at checkout. If money collected as a "tip" is retained by the business rather than paid to workers, the federal tip-ownership rule and federal and state deceptive-practice laws may apply.
Source: FTC Act §5; FTC v. Amazon (Amazon Flex), 2021 · Verified 2026-09