When a $1.50 soda can cost $2.50 in sneaky tips, even math-savvy shoppers throw up their hands.
Redditors are scratching their heads — and wallets — after a user in r/EndTipping revealed her grocery store quietly tacked on a $1 tip to her $1.50 soda.
“I chose no tip… they still charged me a 67% tip,” she fumed (without naming the exact store or location), posting a screenshot of the receipt that showed the sneaky charge.
The poster said she selected $0 on the Square checkout screen, but the store added the dollar anyway.
“They didn’t even put it in a bag for me,” she vented. “When I got my email receipt, I noticed that the cashier appeared to have tipped herself a dollar!”
When the OP called to protest, she was told the only way to remove it was to contact the store directly — a hassle for a charge smaller than a latte.
Commenters were equally outraged. “File a chargeback. It’ll cost them a lot more than a dollar,” one advised.
Another fumed, “That’s just ridiculous. I would not be shopping at that store anymore.”
One added with snark, “Since when do workers at a grocery store even get tipped?? Especially if they aren’t picking/delivering… I’m petty enough to take notes/photos and turn their asses in.”
Some flagged the potential legal issue: one noted it “violates” Square’s terms of service if tips are charged without consent, and suggested using a “credit card chargeback.”
Another vented about the creeping culture of mandatory tipping: “Half the time, these digital tips never reach the workers’ pockets; the Uber CEO and Jeff Bezos were stealing tips.”
The saga highlights a growing frustration with the digital tipping trend, where even a tiny can of soda can feel like a hidden surcharge.
As previously reported by The Post this month, customers are notably accusing Dave & Buster’s of running a tipping “scam” by inflating suggested gratuities on digital payment screens.
A Reddit user said she visited the arcade-and-restaurant with family and used Apple Pay when her sister forgot her card.
The digital tip suggestions didn’t match the printed receipt: the $86.88 bill suggested 18% ($15.64), 20% ($17.38), or 22% ($19.11) digitally, but the paper receipt showed $14.48, $16.09, or $17.70 for the same percentages.
The discrepancy had people wondering if the system was padding tips on purpose.
Some argued it was likely a tax-related calculation — digital tips post-tax, paper pre-tax — while more commenters called the practice “shady” or decried modern tipping culture as a “travesty.”
Other examples suggest it might not be that simple.
In a mega-viral December 2025 TikTok clip, a $158.92 bill from the chain suggested a 20% tip of $44.38 — but 20% of the total is actually $31.60.
One diner chose to tip $20, which the screen then labeled just 9%, even though it was really 12.6%.
Redditors joked about the confusing math. One shared a $59.83 bill, which claimed a 20% tip of $15.16 — when the real 20% should have been $11.97.
Further inspection revealed the system based tips on the taxed total before discounts, including items that had been accidentally added then removed.
Customers who manually adjusted their tip were sometimes “shamed” for tipping less than the inflated suggestion.
Ultimately, this all highlights how technology can turn something as simple as a tip into a perplexing math problem — and a new headache for diners.
