Square Point of Sale alarm

Tipping culture is weird. In Europe you’re not supposed to tip I think. In big US cities, there are extra fees on top of a tip. In Akron, Ohio, the tip likely won't be good if the service at Chili’s is bad. The nuance of tipping is difficult to keep track of.

This is compounded by an inflation in default tip values across the board. Don’t get me wrong, I think any food service job is hard. Much harder than making rectangles all day. However, it’s confusing and awkward to be asked to tip someone $2 when all they did was turn around and give you a prepackaged sandwich that cost $8.

Anyways, I’m rambling because it’s almost 3am in NY. This all got me thinking… what if there was a feature to play an audible alarm if you didn’t tip? Most people would likely tip, even if they did so begrudgingly.

As a former Square employee, I’m loosely familiar with the immense responsibility of designing a high-traffic area like this. Any small change can have massive macroeconomic impacts. It’s stressful. Designing and shipping something like this would wreak havoc on small businesses, but it’d likely lead to more tips (out of fear if nothing else).

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