Customers refused to tip at Shake Shack kiosk, then watched every item go up 50 cents
'We basically went up and duplicated our order, and the same thing happened,' Powell said
A simple order of three milkshakes at an airport Shake Shack turned into an unpleasant surprise for 45-year-old Utah resident B.D. Powell (@b.d.powell). On August 9, 2026, he shared a recording from the outlet's self-service kiosk that increased the prices of every single item in his cart when he refused to tip. His video has since gone viral, garnering over 4 million views on TikTok. Meanwhile, the restaurant chain, in an official statement to FOX NEWS, has dismissed the controversial allegations. "It is not Shake Shack policy," they confirmed.
The checkout twist
Powell didn't believe it when his wife first told him that Shake Shack was charging customers more for not tipping. So while they were waiting at the airport to board a flight to Salt Lake City, they went there to find out whether it was true. Powell said he had visited the outlet several times before, but he'd never realized the scam until very recently. So, he went there to record the whole process on his phone for others to see. "We basically went up and duplicated our order, and the same thing happened," Powell described.
The video Powell shared online shows his wife ordering three milkshakes — one vanilla, one cookies & cream, and one strawberry. Initially, two of the shakes cost them $5.99 and one was $6.48. After they completed the order and clicked on the checkout screen, a window popped up asking whether they wanted to add a tip. The ubiquitous gratuity screen displayed three tipping options — 15%, 18%, and 20% — along with a fourth “No tip” option. The couple selected the fourth option and saw the prices go up by 50 cents.
A costly glitch
“There has been a pricing update on one or more of your cart items. Please review these changes in your cart,” a pop-up informed them. When the screen returned to the order window, the prices had been updated. The two shakes costing $5.99 were now $6.49, and the one costing $6.48 was now $6.98. “Every item went up by fifty cents,” Powell remarked, and added, “just making sure that everybody knows. Do not go there.”
However, Shake Shack later told the news outlet that they don’t have any such existing policy. And apparently, the price change in Powell’s order was likely caused by a glitch. "It is not Shake Shack policy, nor that of our licensees, to increase the price of menu items when no tip is added," a representative from the burger food chain confirmed. Powell captured the glitch to express the frustration he has often felt with the tipping culture of American restaurants. "The entire video was kind of generated by my frustration that, you know, here I was being charged for something I didn't necessarily feel like I should have been charged for,” he expressed.
Tip fatigue is real
In a 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center, around 7 in 10 US adults (72%) reported that tipping is expected in more places today than five years earlier. Two in ten (21%) said tipping is more of a choice, while 29% said it’s an obligation. Similarly, another study by PopMenu found that 3 in 4 (78%) customers admitted that tipping has become ridiculous in the past few years, and 42% have learned to be comfortable with skipping tipping and not letting themselves become pressured by the intimidating tipping culture.
But when Powell recorded the video, he didn’t know whether it was the actual policy or just a glitch. "Because I had been to that Shake Shack before, it felt fishy to me, but honestly, I did not know," Powell said. "I mean, the reality is, I've even tipped at that Shake Shack before. I just thought it was peculiar that, all of a sudden, we were being charged when we pressed 'no tip.'"
You can follow B.D. Powell (@b.d.powell) on TikTok for personal storytimes and video logs.
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