Believe it or not there’s an emerging Boston coffee trend that has nothing to do with the actual best coffee, rather it’s centered around tipping habits of Boston’s best coffee drinkers. You may have noticed while hitting up some of the best Boston coffee shops and casual eateries in the city that many businesses are beginning to use tablets for transactions rather than traditional registers.
Not only are do those tablets allow you to pay for your delicious Third Wave Coffee and scones, many are also track tipping habits. Upon checking out, many customers are directed on the devices to an option for gratuity. Often they provide tip percentage amounts in addition to a “no tip” option.
Rather than casually passing by tip jars customers must now choose to manually opt out of tipping through many mobile POS systems. With a server directly in front of you, you may feel a bit more inclined to tip than you would have before. While some may view this as a negative, it comes at a time when there is an increasing focus on the struggle of workers in traditionally low-wage positions. One has to ask oneself, is it really a bad thing to be motivated to be a bit more generous? Especially for those capable of purchasing Third Wave Coffee, which is worth every penny, should it really be considered a burden to then tip a little extra for the one that expertly brewed it for you?
A recent survey reported that 41% of people surveyed were more likely to tip when a server could see their check out process. Additionally, 41% stated it would not affect their tipping behavior—according to Software Advice. 18% of those surveyed stated that having the server so close would actually decrease the likeliness of them tipping.
Have you noticed the use of mobile POS systems at some Boston coffee shops?