A Reddit user was shocked to see his target tip of 20 percent at a Chili’s in the US jump to 73 percent with the push of a button.
The 25-year-old diner shared a photo of the payment tablet he was using, showing that his $19 bill had unexpectedly increased to $32.80.
He said he “thought it was a weird problem” when he paid for his burger, fries and drink at a Chili’s in Virginia. Newsweek.
“I appreciate the work servers, but this is a bit much for a table of one,” he wrote on his Reddit post under the name Wonderful_Wade.
While he’s still waiting to hear from Chili’s about what happened, the reason for the huge difference may have to do with the way the restaurant chain’s Ziosk payment tablets work — and how they calculate tips.
A 25-year-old customer from Chile discovered that his 20 percent tip amounted to 72.6 percent while paying for his meal at a location in Virginia
“I’m currently waiting for the restaurant to find the receipt so they can send it to me, and I can figure out exactly what happened to my bill, or if it was just a glitch at the kiosk,” he told Newsweek.
“Assuming all is well, I would normally leave a 25 percent tip. But it depends on how much the meal was and how good the service is.
“Only if the service was excellent and I felt like the tip was that high would I pay that much.”
The Reddit user responded to a few commenters, with some users questioning his billing and others commenting on the tipping culture.
He said he got Chili’s ‘3 for Me’ discount – a meal including a drink, starter and mains from a select menu.
The problem could be related to the way the payment terminal – from a company called Ziosk – calculates tips at Chili’s. The display reads: ‘The tip is calculated after tax and before discounts.’
While the 3 for Me deal costs around $10.99, the items themselves are much more than that before the discount is applied.
But even then, Wonderful_Wade says the math still doesn’t add up.
“Even on its own, the total would only be $30, but this implies the total is $69 if I’m correct,” he said on Reddit on Oct. 19.
‘The reactions are very divided. Half the people claim I’m lying and I used a gift card or something to lower the bill, and the rest are ranting about the tipping culture,” u/Wonderful_Wade told Newsweek.
The restaurant guest’s $19 bill became a meal total of $32.80. According to the Ziosk, 20 percent of the bill came to $13.80
‘Sorry, but discounts don’t matter. I leave a tip on the amount of my check before taxes. This is predatory,” one Reddit user wrote.
At least two commenters suggested what Chile’s customer should do next, including tip calculations before and after discounts.
‘The best way to do this is to simply take your grand total and calculate the percentage of that for the tip you want and use the custom option. So you never have to worry about this,” one Reddit user wrote.
This isn’t the only problem with Ziosk’s tips reported this year.
TikTok user @baldbackup highlighted a similar issue on June 17 video . Another Ziosk error increased a 20 percent tip on a bill from $18.98 to $15.19, which was actually calculated as 80 percent.
The TikTok did a little math and said the 20 percent tip would only be $3.79.
“Where do they get $15.19? What is that?,” the TikToker shouted.
The Chili’s customer claimed a discount was added because he was part of the restaurant’s ‘3 for Me’ deal
Several restaurant customers have raised Ziosk issues in TikTok videos this year
Tipping culture has become a highly controversial topic over the years.
It is known as the practice of customers giving extra money to service workers in various types of businesses, including restaurants.
TikTokers also started making videos based on tipping culture, sharing their experiences and advice on what to do about it.
“We know tipping is a hot topic,” said Van Darden, head of media relations at Talker Research USA TODAY earlier this year.
“It’s popular on TikTok, there’s all kinds of online conversations about it, it’s been in the news as people leave the peaks of COVID and delivery services behind them.”
This came just a year after the Pew Research Center said a standard tip most Americans pay at restaurants is 15 percent or less.
It also indicated that 37 percent of U.S. adults would leave a 15 percent tip, while 22 percent would prefer a 20 percent tip.
Experts concluded that retail sales in Chile increased by 14.8 percent during the fourth fiscal quarter of this year
Despite the Ziosk problems, Chilean restaurants have apparently done well in terms of sales this year.
Same-store sales rose 14.8 percent and the company’s total revenue was nearly $1.2 million in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024.
“Our marketing team has done a great job of getting back into what we call the spirit of the times or being relevant again,” said Kevin Hochman, CEO of Chile’s parent company Brinker International. CNBC.
Some of the factors that have contributed to this growth include the restaurant chain’s presence on social media and its focus on value-oriented advertising.
Daily Mail has contacted Brinker International for comment.