A California woman orders ice cream from Baskin Robbins. Then she removes a single cherry and sees how much her total increases

A woman in California deleted one single cherry of her ice cream sundae at Baskin Robbins by ordering on the kiosk. You would think that fewer ingredients would mean lower costs for the company. So why did his total increase by a dollar?

It’s not cheap to eat out these days.

Over the past decade, the cost of dining out has increased by about 51 percent, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even if you’re just buying yourself a small treat, you can expect to pay more than ever: Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that prices for candy and gum have increased about 57% since September 2016.

When you visit a dessert store, 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 more than 81,000 views, TikTok user Lile Khomasuridze (@flatchestedgirl) shows a self-order screen at a Baskin Robbins store.

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

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

“Baskin Robbins, please explain why it costs a dollar to REMOVE a cherry,” Khomasuridze writes in the video’s overlaid text. In the caption, she added: “No way this is real because why am I paying for less of something.”

Extra for fewer ingredients: is this common?

Futbol Chronicle has contacted Baskin Robbins via email for clarification on this issue. It doesn’t appear that anyone else has reported this issue with the channel, and attempts to recreate the issue through online ordering have been unsuccessful.

That said, such fees are not uncommon. Some said they, too, had been accused of removing a topping at other restaurants.

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

Another Reddit user explained how, when placing an order through DoorDash, he was informed that any changes to his sandwich that involved removing an ingredient would cost $0.09 each. Other users have shared similar experiences: They were charged fees for removing items.

Can you be charged for deleting something?

Sometimes these charges arise simply as a result of a programming error. A restaurant may want to reduce the total price after removing an item. But due to incorrect coding, the cost is added and not subtracted. There is evidence of programming errors leading to random increases in customer prices.

However, there may be cases where one is actually charged for removing an item. This tends to happen in restaurants that mass produce many products, rather than making each item to order.

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

That said, it is unclear why this would be the case at a Baskin Robbins location. After all, every dish is made to order and personalized – simply removing a cherry shouldn’t cause any extra slowdown in the kitchen.

Are customizations getting more expensive?

In the comments section, users claimed that they also experienced charges for customizations, even though it didn’t seem logical.

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

“It cost $1.29 to remove the lettuce from my Carls Jr. WTH sandwich,” offered another.

“They also charge the cones uncontrollably,” said a third.

Still, some insisted it was probably just a glitch.

“This is definitely an issue of some sort, the parentheses around the .99 usually mean it lowers the price,” one commenter said.

Futbol Chronicle also contacted Khomasuridze via Instagram and TikTok direct messages.