A TikTok video posted August 9 by Utah resident B.D. Powell has accumulated more than 4 million views and reignited America's tipping wars.
Powell and his wife were at Salt Lake City International Airport and ordered three Classic Shakes at $5.99 each from a Shake Shack self-service kiosk, then selected No Tip.
The screen announced a "pricing update" and the price of each shake jumped 50 cents, taking the total from $18.46 to $19.96.
"My wife says that if you don't tip at Shake Shack, they make it more expensive per item, so we're about to find out," Powell said on camera before testing it. It appeared to happen exactly as she said.
Shake Shack's response was immediate and firm: this is not company policy. The airport location is owned and operated by licensee HMSHost, not Shake Shack directly.
"HMSHost investigated the matter and determined it was an error within their kiosk technology unrelated to tipping," the company said. The issue has since been resolved.
Whether it was a glitch or a feature, the video landed at the exact moment when 78 percent of Americans in a recent survey say tipping has become ridiculous, and 42 percent say they have learned to be comfortable skipping it.
Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer has publicly said customers have no obligation to tip on takeout orders. His airport licensee's kiosk apparently had other ideas, accidentally or otherwise.