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I think this was a brain burp and not an insult, so I'm putting it here.
The sandwich shop has a credit card reader. If it's a chip card that uses a pin rather than needing a signature on the receipt, the customer can type in the amount they want to leave for a tip and have it included in the credit card payment.
Twice this month, we've been left single-digit tips through the credit card interface. Someone left four cents, and someone else left two cents. These were happy customers who enjoyed their food, didn't have any complaints, smiled and were friendly.
I doubt that they were deliberately leaving insulting tips. More likely, they just hit '4' thinking it would be four dollars, when of course if you don't add the trailing zeroes it ends up as four cents.
The credit card reader is no end of fun. It's a cranky old model that does things differently from every other card reader, just to be eccentric. When the handset is given to the customer, the first thing it asks for is the tip. We've had people absently type their PINs in that field, and then ask why the machine wants them to confirm a $90.62 payment for some noodles and a sparkly water. At least they start reading the screen before they hit that final button.
The boss actually encourages us to point out that the tip screen is first, at least to customers who are not our regulars. "Just so you know, the tip screen is first -- you can either skip it by hitting the green button, or type in an amount to leave a tip before hitting the green button. I only tell people this because people keep entering their PINs in there." So far nobody's been insulted by what could be interpreted as tip begging, or by the suggestion that they might be too stupid to read what's on the screen.
The sandwich shop has a credit card reader. If it's a chip card that uses a pin rather than needing a signature on the receipt, the customer can type in the amount they want to leave for a tip and have it included in the credit card payment.
Twice this month, we've been left single-digit tips through the credit card interface. Someone left four cents, and someone else left two cents. These were happy customers who enjoyed their food, didn't have any complaints, smiled and were friendly.
I doubt that they were deliberately leaving insulting tips. More likely, they just hit '4' thinking it would be four dollars, when of course if you don't add the trailing zeroes it ends up as four cents.
The credit card reader is no end of fun. It's a cranky old model that does things differently from every other card reader, just to be eccentric. When the handset is given to the customer, the first thing it asks for is the tip. We've had people absently type their PINs in that field, and then ask why the machine wants them to confirm a $90.62 payment for some noodles and a sparkly water. At least they start reading the screen before they hit that final button.
The boss actually encourages us to point out that the tip screen is first, at least to customers who are not our regulars. "Just so you know, the tip screen is first -- you can either skip it by hitting the green button, or type in an amount to leave a tip before hitting the green button. I only tell people this because people keep entering their PINs in there." So far nobody's been insulted by what could be interpreted as tip begging, or by the suggestion that they might be too stupid to read what's on the screen.
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