You grab your order, swipe your card, even pour your drink, and yet, the prompt to tip flashes before you can blink. Let’s look at where tipping expectations are popping up, even when you’re doing all the work. These 15 everyday activities illustrate how tipping has evolved, often prompting you to question who you should be tipping.
Gas Stations
In most states, gas stations are self-service, and even when attendants are present, you usually have the option to pump your own fuel.
While some customers might feel obliged to tip in full-service setups, it’s not the norm, especially since attendants earn hourly wages and aren’t dependent on tips. So if you’re doing the fueling yourself, your money can stay in your wallet.
Self-Checkout Kiosks
You scan, bag, and pay all by yourself. Still, the kiosk asks if you’d like to leave a tip. With no visible staff and no personal service, it’s unclear who is benefiting. This leaves many shoppers scratching their heads and reconsidering what tipping means in the age of automation.
Automated Car Wash
Today’s car washes often involve more tech than touch. Automated tunnels blast, scrub, and rinse your ride in minutes, without a single human hand touching it.
Yet, many places still suggest leaving a tip. When you’re the one driving in, waiting, and rolling out with no real interaction, the tip prompt feels less like a reward for service and more like a confusing ritual.
Self-Service Restaurants
At self-service restaurants, you order at the counter, grab your food, and find your own seat. There’s little to no personal service. Yet, you are expected to tip.
Most fast food workers earn around $12 an hour, according to Zippia, which is above the federal minimum wage. Since tipping is traditionally tied to personalized service, it’s worth asking: when you’re doing all the work, what exactly are you tipping for?
Bike And Scooter Rentals
App-based bike and scooter rentals are designed for complete independence. You unlock, ride, and return without ever needing to speak to a person. Yet, many platforms still prompt you to leave a tip at checkout. With no direct service involved, the request feels like a reflexive upsell.
Grocery Delivery Apps
Grocery delivery apps often prompt you to tip before your order is even packed or assigned. That early nudge makes tipping feel more like a prepayment than a thank-you, leaving customers unsure whether the service will match the generosity, and if the person who eventually delivers even sees the full amount.
Custom T-shirt kiosk
Custom T-shirt kiosks are a fully DIY experience. You design your shirt, tap the screen, and let the printer do its thin. Still, some places ask for a tip before the ink even dries. With automation handling most of the work, the request seems entirely unnecessary.
Curbside Pickup
With curbside pickup, you do most of the work. You place the order online, drive to the store, and often check in via app. The only human interaction might be someone briefly placing a bag in your trunk.
Yet, many retailers now include tipping options at checkout, prompting customers to add a gratuity before any service has been provided.
Gym Staff
Most gym workers, such as front desk staff, equipment cleaners, or locker room attendants, are paid hourly and don’t rely on tips.
Yet, some boutique fitness studios and wellness centers have started adding tip prompts at checkout, even when your interaction is limited to scanning a QR code or wiping down your own mat. Tipping in these settings often feels more like a tech-driven suggestion than a genuine show of appreciation.
Event Ticket Kiosks
At event ticket kiosks, you handle every step yourself, including scrolling through seat options, entering card details, and printing your own ticket. There’s no usher, no box office clerk, just you and the screen. Still, some kiosks toss in a tip prompt, making the transaction feel oddly theatrical.
Self-Parking
In self-parking lots and garages, you’re the one behind the wheel—finding a spot, parking your car, and walking yourself in. Attendants may be on-site to monitor the lot or offer light guidance, but they don’t handle your vehicle.
Unlike valet service, there’s no personal labor involved, making tipping here unnecessary. If you’re doing all the work, there should be no need to pay extra.
DIY Art Studios
Whether you’re painting a canvas, customizing a tote bag, or assembling a mosaic coaster, many DIY art studios are built around self-guided creativity. You choose the materials, follow the instructions, and do the crafting yourself.
However, you will often come across a tip prompt at checkout. With minimal staff interaction and no hands-on guidance, the request for a tip feels wrong.
Self Check-In
At boutique hotels with self-check-in kiosks, guests are expected to handle all aspects of their stay. They enter details to print key cards without speaking to a single staff member.
Yet, some systems still prompt for a tip during the process. Since there is no personal interaction or customized service, the tip request feels like an unnecessary extra.
Restaurants With QR Code Menus
QR code menus have turned dining into a solo mission. Here, the guests scan, browse, and order without ever speaking to a server. Yet, many restaurants still prompt for a tip as if full service was delivered.
With no one guiding the meal or checking in, the expectation for a tip feels mismatched, leaving diners wondering what exactly they’re tipping for.
Self-Serve Pet Wash Stations
At self-serve pet wash stations, you do all the work. You lift your dog into the tub, scrub, rinse, and dry. At the end of it all, the checkout screen prompts for a tip.
With no direct assistance provided and only facility maintenance happening behind the scenes, the tip request often seems like a default feature of the technology.
