Open question for wallet developers

[BigV]

I was planning on having a chat with my local bar owner about accepting Bitcoin.  In putting together a little diagram on how it all works I found something that is lacking in request/payment system.  That is tips for service.

In a credit card transaction a slip is presented to the customer that includes a place for adding a tip amount.  While with credit cards the card is preauthorized an amount and then a tip can be added before final processing.

I know that tipping is primarily a U.S. custom, but it would be considered bad form to hand the bill back to a server and have them add a tip amount and bring you back a new bill.

A proper methodology would be to present a bill, possibly with a QR payment code already printed and in the customer wallet be able to have a line item for a service tip.  This would fall in line with what people are already used to doing.  The wallet application should allow the add on amount, but not allow the amount to be reduced prior to payment.

I would also suggest that the Bitcoin URI be expanded to include a tip field boolean to trigger that action in the wallet.

What do you guys think?

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[grifferz]

I think there is no problem having a tablet or other hand held device with a screen let the customer type in the tip amount and then produce a new QR code that incorporates the tip, while spelling out in words how much is for the food/drink and how much is tip.

I don't see why the URL format needs to be changed.

[Mike Hearn]

New features are going into the payment protocol rather than the URI spec. Adding a tip at this point is mostly very easy - it means working with Andreas to upgrade the UI of the Android app to support tipping, and then writing a simple BIP extending the payment protocol with a boolean or maybe a "suggested service charge" (ugh).

For the UI I suggest having a few buttons like +5%, +10%, +15%, custom amount etc. Perhaps chosen automatically based on your rough location? That way adding a tip is normally just a single tap on your screen and then it's done.

[BigV]

To me the UI seems to be the place to do it.  Just need something that triggers the tip line to be active.

The whole idea is to make a bitcoin transaction more mainstream.  Most restaurants don't bring the credit card machine to your table.  Bringing a tablet over to the table tends to raise eyebrows unless the order was taken on a tablet. 

Credit card usage took off because of restaurant use.  Bitcoin needs that same acceptance in order to lock into the mainstream.  That process needs to be as simple as possible.

[grifferz]

In UK they always have to bring the credit card machine over because the customer has to enter their Chip&PIN code.

I don't really see what the stigma would be of having staff with smart tablets (these could be very small), but maybe again it is a culture issue.

[DannyHamilton]

To me the UI seems to be the place to do it.  Just need something that triggers the tip line to be active.

The whole idea is to make a bitcoin transaction more mainstream.  Most restaurants in the U.S. don't bring the credit card machine to your table.  Bringing a tablet over to the table tends to raise eyebrows unless the order was taken on a tablet. 

Credit card usage took off because of restaurant use.  Bitcoin needs that same acceptance in order to lock into the mainstream.  That process needs to be as simple as possible.

Fixed that for you.

In most of Europe, the credit card machine is brought to your table.