It is becoming a regular habit for many of us to face the dreaded tip screen at a cafe counter, and one TikTok user has decided she is officially done with it, Daily Dot reports. The creator behind the account @ivymarieplay recently went viral after sharing her perspective on why she now consistently hits the no-tip button for service workers who fail to offer a simple greeting. Her video has already racked up 841,500 views and 1,628 comments, proving that plenty of people are feeling the exact same frustration.
The creator opened her video by admitting she is not necessarily proud of her new habit, but she felt it was important to be honest about her current stance. When she breaks down the reasoning, it really comes down to the lack of basic human interaction during the transaction. She explained, “Because you did absolutely nothing.”
She described an experience where she walked up to the counter only to be met with total silence from the employee. It ended up being on her to initiate the conversation, which she finds frustrating because that person is the one being paid to work the register. She remarked, “That’s crazy.”
The creator pointed out the irony of people fearing that robots or AI will eventually take over these roles
In her view, an automated system would likely be more polite than some of the human interactions she has faced recently. She suggested that a robot would at least manage to say, “Hi, how are you?” and follow up with, “Thanks, have a great day.”
@ivymarieplay Tipping culture is WILD. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but if the most personal part of our interaction is you rotating an iPad toward me, I’m not tipping. Existing near the cash register is not a service💀
♬ original sound – ivymarieplay
Since the employee was not even looking at her during the exchange, she argued that the experience is essentially no different than interacting with a computer. Her final message to the workers who provide zero service was blunt, as she said, “And you’re not looking at me anyway, so I guess it’s no different than having a computer do your job. Do better. Not proud of it.”
The comment section on her video quickly turned into a sounding board for other frustrated customers and even some service workers themselves. One person who identified as a server noted that they also refuse to tip unless they receive actual service and a positive experience.
This commenter pointed out that the current culture of tipping everywhere is getting out of control, which actually makes it harder for those who rely on tips for their livelihood because people are becoming fed up with the entire system.
Other users shared similar stories about the absurdity of being asked to tip in situations where it feels completely unnecessary. One person mentioned they would much rather use a kiosk and have their food delivered by a robot than feel pressured to tip in certain scenarios.
Another user echoed this frustration regarding the frequency of these requests, writing, “No bc why am I tipping in a DRIVE THRU!? I JUST paid 17$ for 2 coffees and you asking me for MORE MONEY!?” It is clear that the tipping fatigue is hitting a breaking point for many, and this conversation is only just getting started.
