Beware of auto-tips at restaurants, etc...

ODB

ODB

WKR
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Location
N.F.D.
Was at a restaurant tonight and the bill was 38.16. Handed the waitress my card and she put it in the machine and then turned it around to me. It showed the 20% - 22% - 25% tips, etc. Except underneath 20% was $8.00. Last time I checked, 20% of 38.16 was $7.63. The other percentages were off even in even larger amounts.

Tip creep like this is bullshit.
 
ODB said:
Was at a restaurant tonight and the bill was 38.16. Handed the waitress my card and she put it in the machine and then turned it around to me. It showed the 20% - 22% - 25% tips, etc. Except underneath 20% was $8.00. Last time I checked, 20% of 38.16 was $7.63. The other percentages were off even in even larger amounts.

Tip creep like this is bullshit.
Click to expand...
Looks like they rounded up. Prices have gone way up for eating out in San Diego. You could probably order a hamburger, fries and a soda and tax for $38. That’s why I almost never eat out at home and I’m cheap as hell!! I’m taking my wife and kids out for Mother’s Day on Saturday instead of Sunday at a restaurant in Coronado that will cost a few hundred including taxes and tip.
 
Last edited:
Same thing at Bubba's chain here locally, wife always wants to calculate and it drives me nuts. In this case Bill was $75.xx and our waitress was great so easy math in my head said plug in $15 for 20%. Wife laughed and said I was wrong. I'm wrong about a lot of things but basic simple math is automatic and instant and definitely ain't one of them. She explained that the 20% button was $23.xx. I looked and sure enough just like OP said all the options were considerably higher than they should be. Our waitress was awesome so I told her just hit the button and let's go. This is legitimately fraud though, I'm surprised there hasn't been criminal charges yet.
 
Billinsd said:
Looks like they rounded up. Prices have gone way up for eating out in San Diego. You could probably order a hamburger, fries and a soda and tax for $38. That’s why I almost never eat out at home and I’m cheap as hell!! I’m taking my wife and kids out for Mother’s Day on Saturday instead of Sunday at a restaurant in Coronado that will cost a few hundred including taxes and tip.
Click to expand...


This meal was: basic burger with included side salad, hummus plate, one cider for the wife, I drank water. $46.16 total. That’s also what makes the tip ripoff even worse.
 
I’ve been stuck in downtown Seattle for work all week and funny this just happened to me a couple hours ago! Ordered from a counter when I walked in. They handed me a beer at the counter and brought wings to my table outside. That was the extent of the service. The standard tip options started at 20%.
 
Simple solution, write the word zero on the receipt and calculate the tip in your head and tip in cash, if the server is great, I am usually generous. If they are piss poor, well, they get a tip in kind.

It's funny seeing the reaction of the eager ones to grab the signed receipt before I have had a chance to hand them their tip. The really good servers never miss a beat, the crappy ones become evident. I think it's more rewarding and respectful to hand the server their tip, it let's them know how they did, it also keeps the restaurant out of the loop. A friend's daughter said that the restaurant took a small percentage of all electronic tips, above what the CC fees were.

That large party nonsense can be overrode, I tell them up front I will not be held hostage by the large party charge, if it's an issue, I will find another place to eat or you can break the party up into two or three tables.
 
Something else to watch for on your ticket, here at least, is a lot of restaurants now charge you the cc fee. 20% tip plus 4% on your bill adds up
 
  • Like
Reactions: ODB
I hear what you’re saying and I agree with all of it. But that said, inflation is ripping apart many, many, mom and pop restaurant and they are simply trying to survive. The wait staff, who never had it easy, is struggling to keep their heads above water.

So I make it a point to tip generously. You can also tell that some of the older wait staff are struggling more than most, so I try to be more generous with them.

The media pretends that’s it’s not happening, but really hard times are here for many of our fellow citizens
 
Sounds like these tip apps are calculating margin instead of mark up for the tips. We don't eat out often here but I'll keep my eye out next time. The credit card charge kills me. I thought it was illegal to charge more after the fact for a credit transaction whereas offering a discount for cash is legal.
 
Got nailed on an online order the other day at Papa Murphys. Entered my order and the total came up as $X when I hit review order. Then I clicked the part to enter my credit card and hit submit. To my surprise the total was now higher. I was confused so I walked through it again entering the same order and the same total came up when I hit review order. Then I clicked to entered my card and stopped and noticed that when you enter your card it adds a tip. Pissed me off.
 
The part that boggles my mind is the auto tip suggestions at what are essentially "fast food" establishments. I'll graciously tip for good service at a sit down restaurant but why am I going to tip someone who just hands me a bag or cup of coffee? The expectation to tip is getting out of hand.
 
We have a local spot that not service based other than they bring your order out to you. They automatically charge a gratuity to the bill which drives me crazy. The good thing is most of the staff will tell you and ask you if you want to remove the gratuity.
 
Another thing to watch out for; my wife and I went to a brewery and had a few beers. She treated me. Instead of leaving a tip on CC, she put cash in the tip jar. When she went out to the car, she got a notification from her CC and noticed the total did not match the bill. I calculated the difference, and it appears the bartender left himself a 20% tip on the machine.
 
Don't forget to check the sales tax charge as well. I was charged 16% sales tax at a restaurant in ND (supposed to be 6%). Didn't notice until I got back to the hotel. Nice lady at the hotel said "that owner is known to make money any way he can". I reported it to the state, but I suspect nothing ever happened. I check all the time now..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don't really drink so I don't go to liquor stores often, but I was going over someone's house recently and stopped to pick up a bottle.

I grabbed the bottle off the shelf and brought it to the counter, the girl rang it up and then spun an I pad around with a card reader, and it was asking what percentage of tip I wanted to leave. I selected 0%.


My wife and I opened a food truck last year and initially had no option for tips but decided after being berated that we need an option for tips by dozens of people added it to our square terminal and put a cup out.

I understand tipping for service, it's kind of how the model for servers works. But I'm not tipping yhe cashier at the liquor store for scanning a Barcode.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk
 
ODB said:
Was at a restaurant tonight and the bill was 38.16. Handed the waitress my card and she put it in the machine and then turned it around to me. It showed the 20% - 22% - 25% tips, etc. Except underneath 20% was $8.00. Last time I checked, 20% of 38.16 was $7.63. The other percentages were off even in even larger amounts.

Tip creep like this is bullshit.
Click to expand...

Carry cash..

If you really want to screw the .gov and get back to the days of 10% tip by tipping with cash

If you're tipping with your CC, that money goes to the employer first and the server doesn't see it for another 2ish weeks. That money also gets taxed because its recorded as being paid to the employee. Cut out the 2 middlemen getting their cut of that pie.
 
I love the tip at the self serve kiosks.
Who the F is getting that tip?

I get it inflation, inflation. Pay your freaking employee what they need to live then, don't put that problem on the general public. It is literally glorified pan handling.
 
RMM said:
Another thing to watch out for; my wife and I went to a brewery and had a few beers. She treated me. Instead of leaving a tip on CC, she put cash in the tip jar. When she went out to the car, she got a notification from her CC and noticed the total did not match the bill. I calculated the difference, and it appears the bartender left himself a 20% tip on the machine.
Click to expand...
That one I'd dispute.

As to the OP, the tip suggestion just appears to be rounded to nearest dollar. Not sure that is a BS rip off. What did it show for the 22 and 25% tip?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mcseal2
  • Sticky
What I learned my first Kodiak blacktail hunt
3 4 5
Replies
91
Views
11K
DougR67
D

Latest posts

Featured Video

Stats

Threads
325,694
Messages
3,422,356
Members
75,602
Latest member
WyoJeff

Latest Articles

Back
Top