Going out to eat in the U.S. can go hand-in-hand with leaving a tip—whether that be 15%, 18%, 20%, or even 25%. But what happens if an electronic tipping kiosk charges a customer more than the allotted percent they intended to give?
That’s apparently what happened to one customer who took a trip to Applebee’s. TikToker @jdmacias77 posted his very first video on TikTok about the restaurant chain. The reason why? He saw a tip percentage on the electronic kiosk that made him pull out a calculator.
After calculating the tip himself, he realized that 20% of his total, $49.49, would be $9.90 when rounded up. Despite this, the tip calculator said that a 20% tip would be roughly $11.30.
Why Is The Tip Recommendation More Than 20%?
“If I wanna tip 20% of my $49.49 … total. It gives me a tip total of $11.30. When I do the math on my phone, it’s actually $9.89,” he says in the video.
The text overlay reads, “Applebees caught stealing your tips.”
But @jdmacias77 didn’t necessarily run into a bug. In his video, he captured the kiosk’s full screen, which included a notice he may have missed.
The kiosk said, “Tip is calculated after tax and before discounts.” After tax, the total for the TikToker’s meal would’ve been $56.50. When calculating a 20% tip from $56.50, the result is $11.30.
One commenter pointed this out. “It’s says right on the screen tip is calculated after tax and before discounts. Look at the full receipt and you will see your answer,” they wrote.
Do People Feel Conned By Applebee’s?
Despite the notice, many people said they wouldn’t visit the restaurant chain. In the past, customers have felt somewhat conned by the business due for varying reasons. One customer thought he would get a good deal on Applebee’s bottomless appetizers, for instance. Then he realized he was only going to get one tray at a time from his server. In the comment section of his video, multiple viewers claimed that Applebee’s regularly microwaves entrees for its guests. A few said the chain was not worth visiting.
Another person said that $1 margaritas are not worth trying because of sanitation issues. An alleged former Applebee’s employee claimed that staff members used “a floor hose and a dirty bucket” to prepare the drinks at her location.
So while viewers offered an explanation for the discrepancy in the comments section, many still encouraged bringing along cash to tip.
“Why are we tipping on tax? When did this start?” one questioned.
“Cash tip only. The store gets the better portion when done electronically, not the server,” another person recommended.
“I believe you should tip on the pre-tax amount, and it’s even better to give it in cash. You can tip on the taxes if you want, since adding the tax to the food total makes it higher, but you only need to tip on the food, not the taxes,” a third said.
@jdmacias77 the math didn’t feel right so I did the calculation for each tip option and found that all the options take more than they should. This is at Riverside branch on Mulberry and University. #theft #applebees #tips #math #lawyer
BroBible reached out to Applebee’s via email and @jdmacias77 via TikTok direct message for more information. This article will be updated if they respond.