California Woman Orders Ice Cream From Baskin Robbins. Then She Removes Single Cherry—And Sees How Much Her Total Goes Up

A woman in California removed a single cherry from her sundae at Baskin Robbins while ordering on the kiosk. You’d think fewer ingredients means less of a cost for the business. So why did her total increase by a dollar?

It’s not cheap to go out to eat these days.

Over the past decade, the cost of eating at a restaurant has gone up by approximately 51%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even if you’re just buying yourself a little sweet treat, you can expect to pay more than ever—data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that candy and chewing gum prices have risen approximately 57% since September 2016.

When visiting a dessert shop, you often expect to pay more for extra toppings or add-ons.

Removing A Cherry At Baskin Robbins: How Much Does It Cost?

In a video with over 81,000 views, TikTok user Lile Khomasuridze (@flatchestedgirl) shows a self-service ordering screen at a Baskin Robbins location.

“That’s $7,” she says, showing the screen. She appears to be placing an order for a two-scoop sundae. The total is $7.59. 

“And then, no cherry,” she continues, removing the cherry from her sundae order. After she removes the item, the price increases—from $7.59 to $8.58. 

“Baskin Robbins pls explain why it costs a dollar to REMOVE one cherry,” Khomasuridze writes in the video overlay text. In the caption, she adds, “No way that’s real cause why am I paying for less of something.”

An Upcharge For Fewer Ingredients: Is It Common?

Futbol Chronicle reached out to Baskin Robbins via email for clarification about this issue. There do not appear to be other people reporting this issue with the chain, and attempts to recreate the issue through online ordering have failed. 

That said, fees like these aren’t unheard of. Some have claimed that they, too, were charged for removing a topping at other restaurants.

For example, one visitor to an airport restaurant was shocked to look at his receipt and discover he was charged almost $2 to remove an egg from his sandwich. He later posted about the experience on Reddit.

Another Reddit user documented how, when placing an order via DoorDash, they were informed that any modification to their sandwich that involved removing an ingredient was going to cost $0.09 each. Further users have shared similar experiences of being charged fees for removing items.

Can You Be Charged For Removing Something?

Sometimes, these charges happen simply as a result of an error in programming. A restaurant may mean to reduce the total price after removing an item. But, due to incorrect coding, the cost is added, not subtracted. There is evidence of programming errors causing customer prices to randomly increase.

However, there may be instances where one truly is charged for removing an item. This tends to happen at restaurants that produce a lot of products en masse, rather than making each item to order. 

For example, if a fast food restaurant produces cheeseburgers in bulk following a certain recipe, a request to remove something from your burger means that it must be made fresh and separately from other burgers. This can slow down the line and take workers’ time away from other dishes. Consequently, some restaurants may choose to charge customers more for “customization,” even if that customization involves removing items from the dish.

That said, it’s unclear why this would be the case at a Baskin Robbins location. After all, each dish is made to order and customized—simply removing a cherry should not cause any additional kitchen slowdown.

Are Customizations Getting More Expensive?

In the comments section, users claimed that they have also experienced charges for customizations, even when doing so didn’t seem to make sense.

“Wait cuz I think Culver’s charged us 40 cents to remove the tomato last night,” wrote a user.

“It’s costs $1.29 to take lettuce off my Carls Jr sandwich. WTH,” offered another.

“Theyre out of hand charging for the cones too,” declared a third.

Still, some insisted it was likely just a glitch.

“Definitely a glitch of some sort, the parentheses around the .99 usually means it’s taking that off the price,” stated a commenter.

Futbol Chronicle has also reached out to Khomasuridze via Instagram and TikTok direct message.