The Utah man behind a viral video appearing to show prices increase at a Shake Shack kiosk after his wife declined to leave a tip says he initially didn't believe her when she told him what had happened.
Brian Powell, 45, told Fox News Digital that he and his wife were waiting to catch a flight out of Salt Lake City when she purchased three milkshakes from the airport's Shake Shack location.
"My wife came to me after buying some shakes and said, 'They charged me more after I didn't tip,'" Powell told Fox News Digital during a Zoom interview from London, where he was vacationing with his wife. "And I thought it was a little interesting."
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Powell said he had visited the location several times before and had never noticed anything similar. Admitting that he was "a bit skeptical," Powell said he returned to the kiosk with his wife and recreated the order while recording the process on his phone.
"We basically went up and duplicated our order, and the same thing happened," Powell said.
The video shows two of the three shakes initially listed at $5.99 each. After "no tip" is selected, the kiosk displays a notice saying there has been a pricing update before the shakes appear at $6.49 each — an increase of 50 cents per drink.
Shake Shack told Fox News Digital the price change was caused by a technology error and that charging customers more for declining to tip is not company policy.
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"It is not Shake Shack policy, nor that of our licensees, to increase the price of menu items when no tip is added," a spokesperson for the company said.
The airport location is owned and operated by HMSHost, a Shake Shack licensee.
HMSHost investigated and "determined it was an error within their kiosk technology that they have informed us has since been resolved," according to Shake Shack.
"We'll continue working with all our licensed partners to make sure every guest is taken care of at Shake Shack," the spokesperson added.
Powell said that when he recorded the video, he didn't know whether the price change was deliberate or simply 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.'"
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Powell said he never expected the video to attract so much attention. He edited and posted it while waiting for a delayed flight and watched its audience surge after taking off.
"The video has been overwhelming," Powell said, adding that the number of comments flooding his social media inbox made it "impossible" to read through all of them.
Powell's video shines a light on many Americans' larger frustration with tipping prompts at self-service businesses.
"I think my own personal opinion is maybe tipping culture's a little bit out of hand, based on this experience," Powell said.
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"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."
Powell said he may revisit the kiosk when he returns to Salt Lake City to see if, in fact, the issue has been resolved.
