Students who visit the Nest regularly this summer might have noticed that the food services in the Nest — such as Pie R Squared, Peko Peko, Noodle Emporium and Blue Chip — have now abolished the optional tipping screen on their card readers, which used to prompt a choice between “yes” or “no.” Instead, the machines now jump to the tip method screen of either paying in dollars or per cent. If you don’t wish to tip, you have to type in “$0.00” or “0%”.
Other food services across the UBC campus still provide the option to tip, so why should the AMS change this? The politics of tipping are highly debatable in terms of who deserves what in the service industry, but even in restaurants where you're expected to tip, there is still the option of “yes” or “no.”
Tipping should be a choice and not an obligation imposed by a manipulative card reader screen. No doubt the food service employees in the Nest work hard, but tipping them should be my choice — not the AMS’s.