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I've got a local cafe that pre-selects a $3 tip on a $5 purchase.

I try to 'punish' for these and tip less than I would normally.

At an airport once the coffee stand had a girl behind the counter that would just hand you an empty disposable cup. She didn’t even handle cash, it was card only using a self checkout POS system. And it still asked for a tip with the default of 20%.

There should be a way to specify a negative tip.

If you really want to make a deal out of it, you hand it back to the server and ask them to select 0 for you. Mention that you don't think the service deserves a tip, and that you resent being asked.

If enough of us start doing this, it has a chance of applying some back pressure, although unfortunately that force acts through the poorly-paid checkout operator who doesn't directly have the option to influence decisions.

The server isn't the one who configured the UI, and probably needs the money. You're punishing the wrong person.

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