Automatic tip suggestions are increasingly popping up on card terminals at restaurants and cafes across Switzerland. But they’re not popular with everyone.
Even in Switzerland, where cash is still king for businesses and widely accepted, most people now choose to pay by card.
As a result of that, automatic tip suggestions are becoming a common feature on card machines, even in self-service restaurants and at takeaway stands.
When online news platform 20 Minuten asked its readers what they thought about this, the majority felt tip requests were unjustified in self-service venues.
One reader, using the name Postillon, said that while they had “occasionally” left tips in restaurants, they would never leave one at the counter.
Another, C-3PO, was even harsher: “Anyone who activates this function will never see me again,” they said.
Some said they felt the practice of asking for tips at all “borders on coercion”, believing the decision to tip should only come from the customer, while others took it less seriously, with one saying “it’s not a requirement, you can ignore it”.
READ ALSO: How much should you tip at Swiss restaurants?
TheCrazyB called the tip suggestions “the logical consequence of the old days when you couldn’t tip with a card”.
Several commenters felt that if they were going to tip they would rather pay cash to ensure the money went to the servers rather than the owner.
Others pointed out that since tipping was scrapped in the hospitality industry in 1974 when service charges was included in bills, tipping was actually no longer necessary.
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Unsurprisingly, commenters who worked in hospitality were in favour of the requests.
READ ALSO: Why are the Swiss tipping less and less?
User i.m.88 said: “Nowadays, payments are almost exclusively made by card, and tips are often forgotten altogether. With this solution, every guest can decide for themselves whether they want to tip, and if they want to, they have an easy way to do so”.
Have your say: What do you think? Do you find it intrusive or even awkward if you don’t want to leave a tip?
Or do you think it’s helpful as it makes it easier for you to tip if you want to? Let us know in the comments section.
