You tip your hairdresser, but what about your mechanic? Expect to see more 'tip creep'

You probably tip the person who cuts your hair. Should you do the same for the person cutting your lawn? 

Customers are increasingly seeing a gratuity option on card payment machines in industries where tipping was never previously part of the cost, from auto shops to fast food giants like Subway and Domino's. 

The phenomenon, dubbed "tip creep," is leaving a bad taste for some consumers, who have vented online about being asked if they want to pay an extra 15 per cent or more on top of the price of a takeout pizza, oil change or propane tank refill.

"Tipping is spreading to a lot more places right now, so where we wouldn't have previously been prompted to tip, now it seems to be a lot more common," says Simon Pek, an associate professor at the University of Victoria's Gustavson School of Business who researches tipping practices.

As customers shift away from carrying cash, it's easier than ever for any business to ask for a little bit of extra money by adding the automatic prompt — what psychologists call a "tip nudge" — to their card payment machine.

Ten years ago, the tipping function on payment machines was "an afterthought" for most businesses, says Alex Povolotski, co-owner of PBH Canada, a provider of point-of-sale terminals and other merchant services.

Today, the tip function is automatically activated for bars and restaurants, but other companies are increasingly requesting it, too. 

"Anybody — a bakery, a taxi driver, a car mechanic, a supermarket — can have it," Povolotski says.

Gilbert Mofleh is one of those mechanics. When he and his business partner bought and took over The Car Clinic in Ottawa earlier this year, the card payment machine already had tipping activated — and they decided to keep it that way.

"As a mechanic, you get some people that do appreciate the fact that you worked on their car and they'll give you a little tip, but it's not very common," Mofleh says. "When it does happen, it's definitely a reward, like, you've done a good job."

He says few customers complain about the tip option, but he is careful to skip past it before handing over the machine if it's a particularly pricey job. 

"I don't want a tip added to a $2,000 bill."

But why do Canadians tend to tip their hairstylist and not their mechanic? 

Mofleh ponders the question for a second.