Shopper fuming after self-checkout machine asked them to give tip

To tip or not to tip, that is the question.

Of course, the answer is often determined by the level of service you've received.

But while there's an ongoing debate about how much to tip or if you should even leave one at all, should you be expected to tip if you didn't actually receive a service?

That was the dilemma that left one American shopper scratching their head after a self-checkout machine prompted them to add a tip after their purchase.

A mystery shopper, who goes by the screen name BurningRiceHouse, shared their experience at an airport checkout on Reddit's 'Mildly Infuriating' thread.

Pexels/cottonbro studio

“It finally happened. I was prompted to tip at the airport self-checkout station," they wrote alongside a picture of the checkout screen showing four tipping options — no tip, 15 percent, 18 percent and 20 percent.

Not to hurt the feelings of the self service checkout (just in case the robots rise up and destroy us all), but you'd hope we were all on the same page about it not needing a tip.

Reddit users were, quite understandably, in uproar for the shopper, and many were left scratching their heads over the fact that nobody is actually serving you at a self-checkout.

One user commented: “They should offer a discount for self-service or lack of service.”

Another puzzled commenter asked: “But who are you tipping exactly? Nobody has provided a service to you.”

“How bizarre. What does the tip go to? The airport? The guy who set up the computer? Makes no sense,” wrote a third.

Reddit/komkomkommer

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported on the rise of digital, self-checkout kiosks and how many customers were prompted to provide tips.

After speaking to a number of customers, the paper found that a lot of them were left frustrated after being asked to tip workers they'd had no interaction with.

Tipping culture is an often contentious topic.

Recently, a delivery driver returned a customer's $400 grocery order after they didn't tip.

In a video that has since gone viral on TikTok, the driver can be heard saying: "You should see how much work this was and why I should be getting a tip because of how much work this was."

The driver then emphasised the importance of tipping, but when the couple's stance did not change, she loaded the groceries back into her car and told them: "They're not for you anymore."