A bubble tea customer went on a rant against tipping culture after he claimed a Chatime employee suggested he leave a tip after dropping $15 on a single Bubble Tea beverage.
“Father Alk” (@alkhussein_) posted his diatribe in a viral clip on his TikTok which has accrued over 323,000 views as of Sunday.
While several users on the platform were left gobsmacked by the cost of the drink, others thought that the price seemed too high to be accurate.
@alkhussein_ Bubble Tea Review + TIP CULTURE MUST BE STOPPED!! #fyp #chaitime #bubbletea #foodreview #drinkreview #tipping #tips #waitress #rant ♬ original sound – Father Alk
He says in the video, “Motherf*cker, tell me why I get this motherf*cker here, this milkshake or whatever the f*ck it’s called for $15 bucks and upon paying the girl at the front says, ‘oh if you want to tip?’ Do I want to tip? Why the f*ck would I tip when this was already $15 bucks?!”
Alk says the employee ‘shoved’ the tablet in his face, where he was faced with the options of a 20% or 40% tip.
“Why the f*ck would I give you a 40% tip when this right here was $15 f*cking bucks!” Alk rants.
Alk rants some more before finally deciding to try out the bubble tea he just purchased at a price point that angered him immensely.
“Anyways, guys, without any further ado…” Alk says before stabbing his straw into the top of the bubble tea cup container.
After his taste test, Alk once again seems terribly disappointed. “F*ck is this, bro? This is not it. This is like ice? Ice for $15 bucks? Plus tip?!” he says, taking another sip, visibly disgusted before pointing to the bottom of the cup, showing off the boba.
“What the f*ck are these little things? What is that a mole? Is that a f*cking beauty mark? What is this?” he says, taking another drag from the straw but doesn’t seem too happy with his purchase, he sets it down, groaning, before picking it back up to show it off into the camera.
“Wallah, I need a refund, and my tip back I think she stole the tip from me or something. Wallah, I tip these nuts, $15 for this. I give it a 3/10 bro, I need a tip for this what the f*ck!” he concludes.
Several TikTokers responded that bubble tea at the locations they frequent is priced at lower points. One user said that for 15 British Pounds Sterling ($18.58 USD as of this writing), folks can get two “large bobas” in London.
Someone else wrote that it’s $7 for a bubble tea in Toronto, while another remarked that Chatime bubble tea costs around $6.50 per beverage. According to PriceListo, a website that aggregates the cost of popular franchises’ menu items, there isn’t a single item Chatime sells that costs $15. In fact, it appears that the most expensive menu item Chatime sells is a Thai Coffee Milk for $5.75 (the website’s prices, as of this writing, say that it was updated on September 2, 2023).
On a delivery application like GrubHub, those prices seem to be a bit higher, but there still aren’t any prices that are past the $6 range. Menu With Price confirms these prices as well.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Chatime and Alk via email for further comment.
