Tipping screen puts customers on the spot as experts reveal when it's OK to hit 'no tip'

Tipping prompts have become commonplace at checkout counters and kiosks — but should customers who leave a digital gratuity expect a "thank you" in return? The question came up during a recent discussion on "Fox & Friends" about a viral video involving a Shake Shack customer who selected "no tip" at an airport kiosk.

"Do you notice when you tip people electronically, they never say thank you?" co-host Brian Kilmeade said.

"If you physically give somebody a tip like at Starbucks or, you know, they'll say thanks, but there must be something that doesn't register when you actually do it electronically because you never get a thank you." SHAKE SHACK CUSTOMER HITS 'NO TIP' AT KIOSK, THEN WATCHES PRICES JUMP IN VIRAL VIDEO Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach in Florida, told Fox News Digital that employees shouldn't necessarily distinguish between customers who leave a tip and those who don't.

"I think it's good customer service for an employee to thank a customer each and every time, whether they give a tip or not," Whitmore said.

"They're thanking the customer for coming in.

They're thanking the customer for being loyal to their business.

So, regardless of whether that person chooses to give a tip or not, I think good customer [service] calls for a ‘thank you’ each and every time." Robert Mahon, managing partner of New York-based Mahon Hospitality Group, said his company's expectations for employees are similar.

AMERICANS SAY TIPPING PRACTICES 'HAVE BECOME RIDICULOUS' AS DIGITAL PROMPTS PUSH HIGHER GRATUITIES "We encourage every member of our team to welcome our guests warmly and thank them as they leave, regardless of the amount of gratuity left," Mahon told Fox News Digital.

"It is very rare that a guest leaves no tip at all, and more often than not, our team receives gratuities of 20% or more.

We believe the generosity of the vast majority of our guests more than makes up for the very occasional instance where no gratuity is left." Whitmore said there isn't much difference, from an etiquette standpoint, between specifically acknowledging a tip and simply thanking someone for patronizing the business.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS "A 'thank you' is a 'thank you,'" she said.

"Just looking someone in the eye and saying, ‘Thank you very much.

Have a nice day.

Come back and see us’ — it's just good customer service." The proliferation of digital tip prompts , however, can create another etiquette dilemma: Customers may feel pressured to leave a gratuity when an employee is standing nearby and can potentially see what they select.