Most customers are in favor of workers receiving fair wages and healthcare. The consensus has historically been that customers only have a problem with this if employers put the onus on them by having them leave tips for their employees or charging them taxes for worker-related benefits. (This only applies to when employers ask customers to tip at places like in a drive-thru or at self-serve frozen yogurt shop. Most people in the U.S. are accustomed to and OK with tipping food delivery workers or full-service restaurant servers.)
TikToker Deek ( @_deekdeek_) said she got ice cream from a local ice cream shop, Big Softie, and noticed something peculiar on her receipt: a 20-cent fee for employee health insurance and sick leave. “I’m paying for their employee health insurance, sick leave. What? That ain’t got nothing to do with me!” she exclaims in the clip, which was viewed over 22,000 times.
@_deekdeek_ 😂😂 #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Blicky – Fresh X Reckless
The top commenter joked that Deek is now the workers’ boss and that she “betta add this to your write-offs.”
Deek also revealed in a comment that this will prevent her from tipping in the future. She tipped $1 on her $5 ice cream order, according to the receipt.
Amid inflation and the demand for an increase in pay for service industry workers, some establishments have added fees, like “labor surcharge,” to offset costs. Some diners argued they don’t mind paying these fees—since they are usually pretty low—as long as the establishments don’t try to sneak them in. Big Softie’s fee is pretty clear-cut, so it’s unclear how many customers actually take issue with it. The ice cream shop must be doing something right, however, as it has been listed as one of the best ice cream shops in Atlanta by both Patch and Thrillist, with the former lauding the shop for using good ingredients, supporting other local businesses, and donating a portion of its sales to help food service workers.
The Daily Dot reached out to @_deekdeek_ via TikTok comment and to Big Softie via email.
