Tipping prompts have become commonplace at checkout counters and kiosks, but should customers who leave a digital gratuity expect a “thank you” in return?
The question came up during a recent discussion on “Fox & Friends” about a viral video involving a Shake Shack customer who selected “no tip” at an airport kiosk.
“Do you notice when you tip people electronically, they never say thank you?” co-host Brian Kilmeade said. “If you physically give somebody a tip like at Starbucks or, you know, they’ll say thanks, but there must be something that doesn’t register when you actually do it electronically because you never get a thank you.”
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Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach in Florida, told Fox News Digital that employees shouldn’t necessarily distinguish between customers who leave a tip and those who don’t.
“I think it’s good customer service for an employee to thank a customer each and every time, whether they give a tip or not,” Whitmore said.
“They’re thanking the customer for coming in. They’re thanking the customer for being loyal to their business. So, regardless of whether that person chooses to give a tip or not, I think good customer [service] calls for a thank you each and every time.”
Robert Mahon, managing partner of New York-based Mahon Hospitality Group, said his company’s expectations for employees are similar.
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“We encourage every member of our team to welcome our guests warmly and thank them as they leave, regardless of the amount of gratuity left,” Mahon told Fox News Digital.
“It is very rare that a guest leaves no tip at all, and more often than not, our team receives gratuities of 20% or more. We believe the generosity of the vast majority of our guests more than makes up for the very occasional instance where no gratuity is left.”
Whitmore said there isn’t much difference, from an etiquette standpoint, between specifically acknowledging a tip and simply thanking someone for patronizing the business.
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“A ‘thank you’ is a ‘thank you,'” she said. “Just looking someone in the eye and saying, ‘Thank you very much. Have a nice day. Come back and see us.’ It’s just good customer service.”
The proliferation of digital tip prompts, however, can create another etiquette dilemma: Customers may feel pressured to leave a gratuity when an employee is standing nearby and can potentially see what they select.
“I want to remind everyone, tipping is optional,” she said. “TIP: To Insure Proper Service.”
Whitmore said customers shouldn’t feel obligated simply because a checkout screen asks them for money.
“You don’t need to expect to pay a certain percentage just because a machine is requesting it,” she said.
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Whitmore said tipping etiquette also depends on the type of service being provided. At a restaurant where employees bring food to the table, refill drinks, provide condiments and clean up afterward, she said leaving a few extra dollars can be appropriate.
“But in instances where you go in, you grab and go, I don’t recommend that you tip at all because you really, in many instances, don’t even have face-to-face interaction with a human being,” she said.
Both experts suggested the amount a customer tips shouldn’t determine the level of courtesy he or she receives.
“I don’t think that money should be a motivator for employees to treat their customers better or worse,” Whitmore said.
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It’s dependent upon management to establish that expectation, Mahon said.
“Management sets the culture of a business. Our goal is simple: we want every customer to become a repeat customer,” he said.
“We do our best to train our teams to approach every guest interaction with that mindset. Ultimately, hospitality is not just a food and beverage business. More importantly, it is a people business.”
