{"id":39168,"date":"2026-08-11T19:30:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=39168"},"modified":"2026-08-11T19:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:30:42","slug":"shake-shack-denies-imposing-no-tip-fee-on-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=39168","title":{"rendered":"Shake Shack denies imposing &#8216;no tip&#8217; fee on customers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2F137079044.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>They\u2019re denying the Shake-down accusations.<\/p>\n<p>Shake Shack has addressed viral allegations that it imposed a \u201cno tip\u201d fee at self-checkout, claiming that the apparent surcharge was actually a glitch in the system.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy erupted after TikTok creator B.D. Powell claimed he was charged for not leaving a gratuity at one of the burger monger\u2019s kiosks at the Salt Lake City airport.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>B.D. Powell selects a medley of shakes from the order screen. <span class=\"credit\">Reddit\/r\/mildlyinfuriating<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the video, which boasts over<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@b.d.powell\/video\/7671510172140866830\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> 4.2 million views<\/a>, he ordered three classic shakes \u2014 a vanilla, cookies &amp; cream and strawberry \u2014 for $5.99 each.<\/p>\n<p>At the now-ubiquitous gratuity screen, he was given a choice of 15%, 18%, and 20% tip options along with the choice to leave nothing.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Upon selecting the latter, he was met with a \u201cpricing update\u201d disclaimer, and saw the price jump to $6.49 per shake \u2014 50 cents more per shake.<\/p>\n<p>However, reps for Shake Shack have denied any accusations of skullduggery.  <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The price change disclaimer that allegedly popped up after Powell selected the \u201cno tip\u201d option. <span class=\"credit\">Reddit\/r\/mildlyinfuriating<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt is not\u00a0Shake Shack\u00a0policy, nor that of our licensees, to increase the price of menu items when no tip is added,\u201d reps for the chain told the Post. \u201cThe pricing issue shared online occurred at an airport Shack that is owned and operated by our licensee HMSHost.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>They added that after investigating the matter, the licensee \u201cdetermined it was an error within their kiosk technology,\u201d which \u201chas since been resolved.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll continue working with all our licensed partners to make sure every guest is taken care of at\u00a0Shake Shack,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cIt is not\u00a0Shake Shack\u00a0policy, nor that of our licensees, to increase the price of menu items when no tip is added,\u201d reps for the chain told the Post.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>The explanation came after Powell warned viewers \u201cnot to go\u201d to the chain, prompting a firestorm of backlash from customers, who deemed this a symptom of the US\u2019 guilt-tipping culture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow is this legal?\u201d wondered one commenter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s already too expensive to be worth it,\u201d lamented another. \u201cForcing an extra charge is a deal breaker. I will never go there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTipping culture in the US has reached an intolerable toxic limit,\u201d said a third.<\/p>\n<p>This fast food false flag comes as customers are increasingly accusing restaurant chains of employing underhanded tactics to boost their profit margins amid inflation.<\/p>\n<p>In June, a restaurant in Tampa, Florida came under fire for <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/30\/lifestyle\/restaurants-are-now-adding-a-venue-fee-to-customers-bills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allegedly tacking <\/a>a 3% \u201cvenue fee\u201d onto the bill.<\/p>\n<p>The appalled customer said that when she complained to employees, they claimed they were simply taking a leaf from nearby hotspots that were imposing similar charges.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They\u2019re denying the Shake-down accusations. Shake Shack has addressed viral allegations that it imposed a \u201cno tip\u201d fee at self-checkout, claiming that the apparent surcharge was actually a glitch in the system. The controversy erupted after TikTok creator B.D. Powell claimed he was charged for not leaving a gratuity at one of the burger monger\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/137079044.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}