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Elin Peters answers: How should you handle preset tipping? Image: Alexander Mahmoud
🇸🇪 Sweden /Culture & Society

Elin Peters answers: How should you handle preset tipping?

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Context piece
  • Swedish diners increasingly face preset tipping options on payment terminals, often showing 10%, 15% or 20% choices.
  • Elin Peters argues that tipping should reward notably good service, not pressure customers or meet staff expectations.
  • She advises diners to choose “Enter custom amount” and decide what the meal was worth to them.

Preset tipping buttons may look convenient, but Swedish food editor Elin Peters says they can quickly feel pushy. Instead of deciding how much to leave, diners can simply press a button and move on. Yet the choice often leaves them feeling pressured.

Peters says tipping should be an extra payment for good service and attentive treatment. Staff may share it with everyone working in the restaurant, from dishwashers to kitchen managers, but it should not become something employees demand or expect regardless of the service provided.

So you press the 10 percent button and feel a little extorted.

— Elin PetersShe describes the pressure created by preset tipping options.

She compares preset tipping requests to asking dinner guests to send money after being invited to a meal, or asking a colleague what they plan to give for a birthday. The problem becomes worse when terminals present relatively high options such as 10%, 15% and 20%.

The arithmetic is not the main issue, Peters writes. The terminals exploit people's reluctance to cause trouble or appear stingy. Her advice is direct: take an extra minute, decide what the restaurant visit was actually worth, and select “Enter custom amount.”

Do not let yourself be manipulated!

— Elin PetersShe urges diners to ignore preset options and choose their own tip.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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