Tech author tells how supermarket employee gave him a dirty look when he refused to tip up to 30%

A tech columnist has revealed how a store clerk recently gave him a dirty look when he refused to leave a 30 percent tip at checkout.

In a recent column, the writer prescribed consumer technology The New York Times Brian X. Chen recalled paying for his items on an iPad checkout when the interface gave him options to tip between 10 and 30 percent.

It comes after DailyMail.com readers revealed the most absurd places they’ve had to tip, saying they’re fighting back against tradition.

Chen selected “no tip” and said the cashier “grew me an angry look,” which made for an “obnoxious.” He said he was “surprised” when asked for a tip in line at a supermarket checkout.

The writer, who also wrote the book The Tech Fix, also said he was “pressured” to tip his motorcycle mechanic on a cash register screen. Chen said that while he felt the tip was also unfair, he paid it reluctantly because “my safety depended on his services.

In the column, Chen examined the practice of tipping on tablet registers and suggested that it could soon become part of a Federal Trade Commission investigation into unfair business practices affecting customers.

His woes come as thousands of Americans have complained about the digital tip machines that have sprung up in eateries across the country. They encourage customers to tip even if an employee has performed a very simple task, such as ringing the doorbell for takeout food taken from a fridge.

Chen wrote about how payment platforms commonly used in stores all over the market are deliberately manipulating people into tipping.

“Payment technologies allow merchants to display a range of standard tip amounts,” he wrote, “for example, buttons for 15 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent, along with a “no tip” or “adjusted tip” button.”

“That setup makes it easiest for us to choose a generous tip, rather than a smaller one or no tip at all.”

Ted Selker, a product designer who worked for companies like Xerox and IBM, told Chen that the payment app designs were very deliberate. “It’s coercion,” he said.

Chen cited another example reminded to him by a director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tony Hu.

‘Mr. MIT’s Hu said he recently received $1, $3 and $5 tips after a $10 Uber ride,” Chen wrote. “He chose the middle button, $3, before realizing he would normally tip the driver 20 percent, or $2.”

Hu told Chen, “It’s psychological mind games.”

Some Americans have begun to put their foot down.

Despite tipping having a long history in the country, rampant inflation and the expectation to tip for just a cup of coffee being poured has people wondering if it’s time to change unspoken tipping codes.

Last month, DailyMail.com took to the streets to find out what people really think about the practice, and readers say they’ve had enough, going so far as to completely avoid places that chase their customers for tips.

Readers said one of the most offensive aspects of modern tipping is the expectation that customers will now have to pay extra “no matter what the service is.”

One commenter wrote, “Not sure why I should tip a bartender who takes a bottle of beer and pops the cap off, 5 seconds.”

“I don’t mind tipping a waiter who waits an hour for me. I hate tipping someone for serving a drink. Will supermarket checkouts start asking for tips?’ asked another.

And while tipping has long been a custom in the US, the noticeable rise in prices in recent years has led one commentator to label the tradition “ridiculous.”

“They always charge tips for everything,” they continued.

Numerous readers agreed that point-of-sale apps that ask for tips are inappropriate, with one person commenting, “You go to the counter to pay, and the tip button is right there with the staff staring at you.” Uncomfortable.’

“I’m really cut back on places where they have those touchscreens,” said another disgruntled reader.

Debates over tipping etiquette erupted this month after new “guidelines” were published by New York magazine The Cut.

Intended as a new code of honor, the suggestions sparked anger after advising people to routinely tip 20 percent no matter what to avoid being considered “rude.”

And while one of the proposals was to add an extra 10 percent even if you’re going to get your own takeout, readers attacked the absurd new “rule.”

“The mag article is the biggest culprit here trying to brainwash young people who read them into paying (even cash they don’t have) using manipulation, guilt and peer pressure,” said one reader.

“I tip according to the waitstaff.”

Another concurred, adding, “No tip on a fulfillment order, never have been. This is super inappropriate for these establishments to ask.”

“I never tip when I go in to pick up the food. sorry not sorry.

“I tip 20% for waiters, hairdressers, pizza delivery guys. But never for them to give food over the counter.”

In the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, according to maps released, tips are 5 to 10 percent Hawaiian Islands. com.

But according to The Cut, those who oppose tipping for everyday items are “stingy,” while those with disposable income should splash far more than 25 percent at restaurants and bars.

For coffee shops, coffee carts, cafes and bodegas, customers must tip at least 20 percent because of the ‘tense atmosphere’ and ‘complicated orders’, according to the magazine.

But while it argued that Uber drivers should also get 20 percent because they earn less in tips than regular taxi drivers, some lashed out at the expensive demands.

Kirsten Fleming agreed with many of our readers, as she wrote in the New York PostThey are completely out of touch with real New Yorkers struggling to afford skyrocketing rents and high food bills.

“The list should have been reduced to a few actionable ideas.”