Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and even a terminally incorrect news network sometimes hits the nail on the head:

A new checkout trend is sweeping across America, making for an increasingly awkward experience: digital tip jars.

You order a coffee, an ice cream, a salad or a slice of pizza and pay with your credit card or phone. Then, an employee standing behind the counter spins around a touch screen and slides it in front of you. The screen has a few suggested tip amounts – usually 10%, 15% or 20%. There's also often an option to leave a custom tip or no tip at all.

The worker is directly across from you. Other customers are standing behind, waiting impatiently and looking over your shoulder to see how much you tip. And you must make a decision in seconds. Oh lord, the stress.

This captures precisely how it is. You're sitting there trying to figure out if you want to tip the lady for handing you a pre-made granola bar, there are people waiting angrily in line behind you, and the cashier's like...

Even the experts are stumped:

"I don't know how much you're supposed to tip and I study this," said Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University and one of the leading researchers on US tipping habits.

Oh great, that's reassuring.

It's true that nobody really knows when to tip anymore. The whole thing is pretty irritating. It wasn't always the case that we were expected to tip everyone; it used to be reserved only for high-stress, highly demanding jobs (like being a waiter) or select services that give you a high level of convenience (like food delivery).

But now if you order a muffin off the shelf you get hit with that tipping screen.

What's going on? Where does it end?

We need some clearly outlined rules here.