A San Diego woman told NBC 7 her local Starbucks location has been adding a little something to her bill without permission.
She said she noticed multiple tips added to her digital receipts when she only ever tips in cash.
The first time she noticed a tip added to her ticket was May 4. Robyn Dudley brushed it off because she was in a rush, but the total she heard at the window didn’t sound quite right.
“I asked her for the receipt and she just had a shocked look that I even asked,” Dudley said.
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She drove off and then noticed a one-dollar tip added to her total.
“I was talking to my friend on the phone at the time, I was just like, ‘this girl added a tip,'" she remembered.
It happened in the drive-thru again on July 3.
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Dudley said she's been coming to the Starbucks since last September, sometimes even twice a day and doesn't normally ask for a receipt. On her most recent receipt: a lemonade, bagel, croissant, muffin and a little something extra.
“He didn't even tell me the total or anything,” Dudley said. “He just said my name and I handed him the card. I looked on the app at my receipt and then I saw that he gave himself a tip. And I was just like, ‘Oh, this is what they're doing here now.’”
A Starbucks spokesperson responded to her claims in a statement that reads:
“We want everyone to have a positive experience in our stores; we take claims such as these seriously and are investigating the matter.”
Dudley said it’s not the tip amount that upsets her. It’s the principle.
“It may be a small amount to me, but if they're doing it so easily, I’m probably not the only one,” she said. “If it's more than a dollar, I feel like it's way more noticeable. So, I do think it's by design.”
She reported the added tip to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that told NBC 7, since the pandemic, something called cramming is happening more often.
“Cramming is where, for example, you go pay for an item and they add a tip without your consent,” said spokeswoman Alma Galvan. “That is what actually is illegal.”
If you notice this happening, file a report with the BBB, the state attorney general or the federal trade commission.
Dudley said her biggest piece of advice to others is to always ask for your receipt. She said if you notice something seems off, speak up.
