Shoppers Slam Self-Checkout Tipping Requests: "Stop This Madness"

Tipping requests are popping up at self-checkouts.

As tipping has turned digital, the demands have become more pervasive. Requests to leave a gratuity of at least 20 percent have started making their way to self-checkout machines across the U.S. at places like airports, stadiums, cookie shops, and cafes, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Corey Gary, who works at a cybersecurity startup, told the newspaper that he was asked for a tip at San Diego's Petco Park while grabbing himself a beer from the stadium's self-checkout beer concession stand.

"I was confused, because it wasn’t entirely clear who I was tipping," he explained to The Wall Street Journal, adding that he still left 20 percent.

RELATED: 6 Places You Should Never Tip, According to Etiquette Experts.

More shoppers are now talking about this trend online.

Self-checkout tipping requests are still fairly new, but they've already earned some heated feedback.

In an Aug. 17 Reddit post on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, user @BurningRiceHouse revealed that they had just experienced the trend.

"It finally happened," they wrote. "I was prompted to tip at the airport self-checkout station."

Other users sounded off in the comment section of the now-viral Reddit post, which has already been seen by thousands of people. "But who are you tipping exactly? Nobody has provided a service to you," one person responded.

Another asked, "Do they really expect people to tip on a self checkout?"

RELATED: New Law Wants to Introduce Tipping at Walmart and Other Major Retailers.

Shoppers are asking businesses to "stop this madness."

Columnist Arwa Mahdawi just spoke out about the emerging phenomenon of gratuity requests at self-checkouts in an opinion piece for The Guardian.

"The U.S. may be a bitterly divided country, but I think I’ve found a topic which pretty much everyone can unite behind: tipping culture is out of control," she wrote.

As Mahdawi explained in her article, tipping prompts have become "ubiquitous" across the nation—meaning that there is practically no payment transaction you'll encounter without being asked for additional gratuity.

"If you go to the local convenience store to buy a pint of milk or a pack of crisps, chances are you’ll still see that tip screen pointed at you. You’re even prompted to leave a tip at some self-checkouts," she wrote. "How can we stop this madness?"

But some say these tips are still going to employees.

Many people are calling for an end to self-checkout tipping requests, largely because they feel it's unclear where their tip is going. Rachel Wolfe, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, told CBS News that a major problem with this trend is that there's no proof that the money tipped at a self-checkout machine goes to an actual employee.

"Machines don't have the same protections as tipping human employees, so while the law requires that something called a 'tip' has to go to employees, when you're tipping a machine, you can't be quite so sure," Wolfe explained.

But businesses claim that employees are indeed the ones reaping the benefits. A spokesperson for OTC, a self-service concessions company with locations at hundreds of U.S. airports, told The Wall Street Journal that tips at self-checkout machines are pooled among staff working during the shift.

"It is always our goal to create valuable experiences for our guests while taking care of our crew members, and the option to leave a tip if you have received assistance allows us to do both," the spokesperson said.