Tip request at self-checkout kiosk at Newark Airport leads to disbelief

A woman who was asked to tip at an airport self-checkout kiosk has gone viral after posting a photo of the request, sparking anger and disbelief.

Reddit user u/_seaweed_ posted a photo of the transaction in the r/mildlyinfuriating forum, revealing in the comments that the incident took place at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

The post has garnered 109,000 interactions and more than 4,600 comments, with some expressing skepticism that the tipping mania in America is now extending to self-service transactions.

However, other travelers have shared similar photos of the same self-checkout kiosk in Newark, which appears to be on a CIBO Express Gourmet Market, confirming it’s real.

Last month, Reuters tech correspondent Anna Tong took a picture from the tip screen as she bought a bagged salad and asked in a tweet, “I’m at Newark Airport and being asked to tip on a self-checkout transaction – how much should I tip?”

OTG, which operates the CIBO Express retail chain at the airport, said tips at self-checkout machines are collected from staff working in that service

Tong didn’t disclose her tipping decision, but did say in a follow-up tweet that the salad was “terrible.”

On Reddit, the photo shared by u/_seaweed_ shows a self-checkout tip request for the purchase of a $6.39 bottle of Vita coconut water and $14.99 chicken caesar wrap.

After taxes and a 3 percent “reimbursement” to cover state-mandated employer contributions to airport employee health plans, the total for the order comes to $23.05.

The prompt screen asks “do you want to tip?” and helpfully suggests three options: a 15 percent tip of $3.31, an 18 percent tip of $3.85, and a 20 percent tip of $4.28.

Reddit users were baffled, with one commenting: “Tip who exactly?”

‘This is especially annoying when you consider how expensive everything is at the airport. Then they have the nerve to ask for a tip,” said another.

“This is getting out of hand, I think we need legislation to mandate a no tip option and prohibit them from being automatically added to a bill,” another user wrote.

Last month, Reuters technical correspondent Anna Tong also snapped a photo of the touchscreen when she bought a packaged salad

Management company OTG, which operates the CIBO Express store, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs Newark Liberty, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com late Wednesday.

But last month, an OTG spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that all money raised is paid to employees as tips, and that tips at self-service machines are pooled among the staff working in that shift.

“It is always our goal to create valuable experiences for our guests while caring for our crew members, and the ability to leave a tip if you have received assistance allows us to do both,” said the spokesman.

The Journals report included interviews with several miffed travelers who came across the tip request at self-checkout checkouts in OTG stores.

Garrett Bemiller, 26, said he refused to tip for a bottle of water at an OTG gift shop in Newark Liberty.

“The prompt alone is a bit of emotional blackmail in general,” he told The Journal.

Warren Williamson, 35, said he had a similar experience in March at an OTG at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, saying, “I thought maybe I was going crazy.”

The controversy comes in the middle widespread backlash over ‘tipflation’ who has seen tipping culture spill from bars and restaurants to coffee shops and takeaway stores.

A TikTok user named Mia complained that she was asked for a tip at an airport. She captioned the video: ‘This is getting out of hand’

Historically, tips in the US were only expected in restaurants and bars – or other locations where people were served by servers.

But recently convenience stores and coffee shops have started implementing iPad vending machines that ask customers if they want to add a tip before completing the grab-and-go transaction.

While they can say no, shoppers have often complained that they are “guilt-driven” into agreeing to the surcharge.

Square, a technology company that powers many iPad checkouts, said tip transactions increased 17 percent in full-service restaurants over the past year.

Takeaway restaurants with quick service have increased by 16 percent since the last quarter of 2022.

By law, employers are required to provide tips directly to their employees, but some companies have faced lawsuits over the years for failing to do so.