Tipping used to mean thanking a person for service. Now it's a touchscreen flipped around at you, preset to 25%, with the cashier watching and a line behind you, for a transaction where nobody served anything.
Surveys keep finding the same thing: a large majority of North Americans think tipping culture has gone off the rails, and tip prompts now appear at self-checkouts, vending machines, and drive-throughs.
We demand: no default tip on counter transactions, "no tip" displayed as prominently as every other option, and total transparency on where the tip actually goes.
Pay workers properly. Stop outsourcing payroll to social pressure, three dollars at a time.