Tipping screens: since when is a 15% ‘suggestion’ Australian?

I bought one flat white. The machine swivelled around like a courtroom witness and asked me, in front of a queue, whether I’d like to tip 15, 20 or 25 per cent. On a takeaway coffee. That I carried myself.

We never tipped like this. A good coffee got a thank you and a smile, and the economy did not collapse. Now a touchscreen does the asking, and it’s engineered so the ‘No tip’ button feels like kicking a puppy.

I’m not against generosity. I’m against being nudged into it by software, with an audience. So tell me honestly — is this a cultural shift we signed up for, or one that was installed while we weren’t looking?