Didn't leave a tip? A 'penalty' awaits you at the register: the video stirring up the web

A TikTok video that went viral has sparked a discussion in recent days about tipping culture and food prices: a couple claimed they discovered that prices for items at the Shake Shack food chain increase after choosing not to leave a tip. Online, people were quick to wonder if this is a new method to pressure customers – but Shake Shack claims it is actually a technical glitch.

Didn't leave a tip – this is the 'penalty' that awaited them

It all started on August 8, when B.D. Powell uploaded a video to TikTok in which he documented an experiment he conducted with his wife at a Shake Shack branch at the international airport in Utah, USA. According to him, his wife suspected that customers who choose not to leave a tip are charged a higher price, so the two decided to test the claim themselves and placed an order at the self-service kiosk that totaled 18.46 dollars.

After they chose not to leave a tip, a message appeared on the screen about an "update of prices," and according to Powell, the price of each of the items went up by 50 cents. He documented what was happening in the video and said:

"Everything just went up by 50 cents."

The video has since garnered more than 4 million views.

Shake Shack: "This is not our policy"

After the video went viral, Shake Shack denied that this is the chain's policy and claimed that raising the price for those who do not leave a tip is not practiced by them or their franchisees.

So what did happen? According to the company, it was a technical glitch in the ordering system, which was not related at all to the customer's choice not to leave a tip. In addition, they stated that the problem has already been addressed and fixed.