Tip Trap

A couple stopped at the Shake Shack inside the Salt Lake City airport, ordered from a kiosk, and tapped the option to leave no tip. In the video they posted afterward, the prices changed and an extra fee showed up, so saying no to the tip barely saved them anything. The clip went viral within days.

People were annoyed about this long before that video. Tip screens have shown up at counters where nobody used to tip, and some of them make you tap through an extra screen just to say no. A survey this year found that nearly eight in ten people think tipping has gotten ridiculous, and more than a third of them now type in their own number instead of touching any of the suggested buttons. Businesses keep the screens anyway, because the buttons work. When 25 percent sits in the middle of the screen, more people tap 25 percent.

Here is the screen almost everyone has seen by now.

ADD A TIP?
[ 20% ] [ 25% ] [ 30% ] [ No Tip ]

Your Task: You are about to change both sides of that screen.

1. The Greedy Change
You own the business and you want more tips. Make one change to the screen above that would squeeze more money out of people. It could be the wording, the buttons, the colors, the order, a sound, or anything else you can think of. Explain it.

2. The Honest Change
Now you are the customer. Make one change that would make the screen fair, so that people tip because they want to and not because they feel trapped. Explain it.