1.

rstlne
October 12th, 2007 at 11:13 am

Or… use cash. That way, you pay exactly what you pay at the time of the transaction and there’s no need to check receipts later.

2.

Nick
October 12th, 2007 at 12:07 pm

rstlne, blasphemy!

As long as I have my (wife’s) mtvU Reward card and its 5% back at restaurants, it’s credit only for me, even if it means having to do some math to protect myself from server fraud.

3.

Kimberly
October 12th, 2007 at 7:18 pm

I’ve always worried about this and thought I was just being paranoid… I never actually knew it was a real problem… The only difference I’ve ever had is when the server took less then I actually wrote down which I thought was weird. I would like to think I tip pretty good so this wouldn’t happen but I do check my receipts religiously just in case… I’ll be sure and keep this technique in mind.

4.

Patrick
October 13th, 2007 at 11:04 am

Great post, but I agree with rstlne. I almost always tip in cash, and leave a $0.00 tip on my card. Yeah, I understand I could gain a minimal amount of cash back over the course of the year, but it doesn’t bother me. My wife and I rarely go out to eat anyway, so for us it wouldn’t be much of a difference. And I’m sure the wait-staff appreciates cash more.

5.

Baz L
October 13th, 2007 at 11:55 am

That’s funny, but so true. I once had such bad service at a restaurant, so I entered $0.00 tip. That magically turned into a $6.00 tip.

I promptly called the company and complained. It was eventually reversed.

6.

Eric
October 14th, 2007 at 10:19 am

That’s such an easy thing to do, and it’s a fantastic idea! This happened to me and a few friends at a restaurant we frequent. Really ticks me off when someone pulls crap like adding another dollar to the tip. I love that this is a cool, geeky way to check for that kind of scam.

7.

freefrombroke
October 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am

I had a restaurant add $10 to a bill I paid a cash tip for (I crossed out the tip section too). I was lucky to notice the wrong amount on my CC bill and was able to dispute the amount and get the money back. I never even thought to go to the police though. That’s an interesting angle. I’ll keep that in mind should that ever happen to me again. Thanks!

8.

chica with issues
October 16th, 2007 at 8:55 am

I’ve had a server add on $10 once before when I was traveling. The most insulting thing was that I tipped well!

9.

mapgirl
October 18th, 2007 at 8:51 am

This has never ever happened to me. I usually check my statement right away with Quicken. I also try to leave tips in cash and then draw a line through the tip space or put a big loopy zero with a slash through it.

Where are people dining that this is happening? That’s what I want to know.

10.

plow
October 18th, 2007 at 6:48 pm

One could write the tip out and not use numerals. i.e. “three” versus “$3.00″ It’d be a lot harder to turn “three” into “eight” than it is to turn “3.00″ to “8.00″

Not nearly as cool as the checksum method though..

11.

denis bider
October 21st, 2007 at 6:19 pm

Duh. Cash. Always.

12.

pjm
October 21st, 2007 at 10:10 pm

I’ve also heard of a no-arithmetic method: adjust the tip to make the total a palindrome. Very easy to spot and check in the credit card bill without mental addition, and the checksum is “obvious” enough to a half-awake server that they’re less likely to try fiddling the bill.

13.

Nick
October 21st, 2007 at 11:48 pm

pjm, palindromes are another good checksum, but it still requires just as much math to adjust the tip to yield a palindrome, and it’s easier for a server to catch on to your checksumming method and find a way to counter it—like finding another, more expensive palindrome.

14.

Peter
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:19 am

Or, perhaps consider that if the service was a little slow, the server was probably busy and was doing their best, or having a bad day. Digging a little deeper and always tipping at *least* 15% unless the service is drop-dead horrible is your best way to combat cranky wait staff in a fraudulent mood.

15.

Jemaleddin
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:41 am

You should really check out Ian Hickson’s blog entry about trying to use tips on his credit card as a way of keeping track of restaurant reviews:

http://ln.hixie.ch/?start=1190803943&count=1

Short synopsis: it doesn’t work, for some unknowable reason.

16.

Matt Ellsworth
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm

nice idea – thanks!

17.

Unseen
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:53 pm

You know, all of you should work as servers and you will learn that 99.9% of servers do not do this to people they honestly gave bad service to. But more often than not restaurant guests are just being cheap or simply do not know HOW to tip, that is when this will happen. I was a server for a few years and up until recently when I got a nice office 9-5er. But what you all don’t realize is that there are ways around even this. It involves the server “borrowing” a mangers swipe card to remove a “mistake” they put on the bill….no managers ever do it themselves, they would give us their card to remove the item ourselves…..and now I get a better tip anyway….Or I use the coupons you guests bring in, that I didn’t turn in at the end of the day…..so no matter what you lose, I win

18.

Marc B
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:35 pm

Well, I’m an 8-4 office worker, with a 5-11 server job at night. And believe it or not, there are people out there who really enjoy their server job (gets them away from the office setting) & are honest, both to thier customers and their employer. Maybe I live a sheltered life! The checksum methos is cool, and I will try to apply it when I go out myself! Though the extra cocktails i may have might alter my math abilities.

19.

moondog
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 pm

i worked as a pizza delivery guy for quite some time, and this type of thing happened often. i always reminded people to fill in the total on their cards if they “forgot” to tip. 9 times out of 10 they would fill in a tip, but the one time they don’t i make them fill it out anyway because this type of thing is so easy to get away with. especially if they use *my* pen to sign the receipt.

but i will say as well, that 9 times out of 10 that extra tip is an honest mistake made when entering tips into the credit card machine at the end of the night. when you have 20+ credit receipts to enter before you can go home and you lose track of which one you’re on, it doesn’t take much to accidentally change the total. yes, you’re pissed off that the receipt came back higher than you expected it to, but i doubt that it’s always a server deliberately trying to rip you off.

20.

Jen S.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:28 pm

I always tip in cash, even when paying by credit card. I write “on table” on the tip line instead of writing zeroes.

21.

Schizohedron
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 pm

I prefer to leave cash tips. However . . .

Will the charge slip still be valid if one were to write out the tip, e.g.,:

Three Dollars and 50/XX

the way one does on a check? You are still going to write in a numerical total, so the part the CC company cares about is the same.

22.

vh
October 24th, 2007 at 7:46 am

Although it’s true that most servers are hardworking & honest, in my experience now & again one isn’t quite so honest. I’ve found tips altered, and I always tip 20% because my math is so poor the only way I can figure out a tip is to take 10% of the bill and double it. Obviously, the checksum method leaves something to be desired for a person who is that math-challenged.

If I leave cash for the tip, I write on the receipt “Tip left in cash.” When I add the tip to the credit card payment, I write down the amount of the tip on the receipt. Then I keep EVERY receipt and enter it in Quicken. When the bill gets here, I check off each charge on the statement against Quicken. It’s pretty easy to spot any discrepancies. A complaint to the credit card company brings a correction.

A far more reliable way to avoid getting ripped off at restaurants is simply to eat out less. Learn to cook. Once you have a feel for what a glass of pop, tea, wine, or beer actually costs and how much work goes in to making a nice meal, you have a better idea of whether the amount the restauranteur charges for menu items is fair.

23.

jerry
October 24th, 2007 at 9:08 am

I pay for my meal with my rewards card, but on the tip line write ‘CASH’ and leave a cash tip.

24.

guinness416
October 24th, 2007 at 10:01 am

We use Jerry’s method when we can. How often does this actually happen? Himself and I eat out a lot, for work and for pleasure, and have bartended on and off since we were teenagers, and I’ve NEVER heard of this happening to anyone …

25.

Joel
October 24th, 2007 at 12:13 pm

guiness416, you’ve never heard of this happening? You lead a sheltered life. I hardly ever eat out but I’ve seen a group of six of us get a bill that somehow had seven entrees on it. We asked the server about it and he quickly said “Whoops, my bad” and removed the extra. He didn’t even bother to go over the bill with us before saying that. He already knew.

How many discrepancies would I find if I actually kept my restaurant receipts and compared them to my credit card bill? Again, I don’t eat out much and have never bothered to do this, but the fact that everyone else in this forum has horror stories to tell suggests that I would find a few. You are the statistical outlier here.

26.

dr.xnlb
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:25 pm

10%? You deserved to be ripped off. Start tipping 20% on average, and watch this plague of petty crime on your bills go away.

27.

Springs1
November 3rd, 2007 at 10:29 am

dr.xnlb
“10%? You deserved to be ripped off. Start tipping 20% on average, and watch this plague of petty crime on your bills go away.”

I TOTALLY DISAGREE since he said his service was slow. His service could be slow because of a non-attentive server or a server that takes 10 minutes to get a refill, which that IS in their control to get a refill of coke. Waiting 5-10 minutes for the check and another 5 minutes to get it rung up, is in the server’s control as well. I tip 25% for great service, but if the service sucks, I give what is DESERVED! If the server deserves only 10% for doing a lousy job, THAT is what they deserve. The customer DOESN’T deserve theft to happen to them unless they tip 10% to just be cheap with being that nothing went wrong with the service. That’s when I’d say they got a taste of their own medicine, but if they received bad service, a bad tip IS JUSTIFIED and DESERVED!

28.

Jeff B.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:33 pm

Although I can’t claim that I’ve ever had a tip changed (I’ve never paid that much attention) I did find the algorithm(s) intriguing enough to create my first Windows Mobile app for my PDA. If anyone is interested, you can check out the details here:

http://devmatter.blogspot.com/2007/11/safetytip-my-first-mobile-app.html

29.

Anon
November 15th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

Man, there’s something about the ‘that they probably deserved’ part of that line that really rubs me the wrong way. I just hate the idea of self important douchebags deciding to punish what they regard as poor service with shitty tips. Here’s a tip: If your meal cost $31 you’re probably eating at the fucking Olive Garden and shouldn’t have such high expectations.

30.

Brad
November 15th, 2007 at 1:52 pm

You could go even further to fight some waiter or waitress doing the checksum or random chance. Perhaps have the first digit of the cents of the total be the final digit when you multiply the digits of the dollar. In the above example, give a tip of $4.50 for a total of $51.66. 5×1=6. If the waiter adds $9 instead of 10, the final “6″ would match, but 6×0!=6, thwarting another theft. Variations on this theme guarantee no one will figure your system out.

However, after a few beers at dinner, I’m going to continue to tip based on boob size of the waitress.

31.

TomHung
November 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pm

I suggest that if you pay cash for the tip you put a “ZERO” in the tip spot instead of “$0.00″.

I would be tough to change the ZERO into any amount.

Looks like i’m going to start carrying cash more often.

G

32.

foop
November 15th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

Or move to the UK. With the advent of “Chip and PIN” cards, the waiter (sorry, server) will bring a small wireless card reader to your table. You get to enter the value of the tip and your PIN from your seat.

Of course it’s not guaranteed to be 100% safe, but I haven’t heard any reports of fraud. Now, the same system in petrol (sorry, gas) stations is a different matter – there were reports a year ago of the card terminals being hacked to intercept card details and PINs.

33.

Sam
November 15th, 2007 at 9:43 pm

How about writing in a null symbol (Ø) for the tip?

34.

fourstar
November 16th, 2007 at 2:41 am

Isn’t this all a bit cheap? I do live in the UK where tips are slightly less of the make-up of a server’s income (due to higher minimum wage, etc) but a bump up of $5 is not really going to break the bank, is it? Lighten up a little.

I do agree that it’s wrong – theft, even – but for goodness’ sake!

35.

Harvey
November 16th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

Instead of assuming your waiter is a criminal, perhaps perform step 3 first: call the restaurant. I had a really busy bartender once over charge me by $300 because she accidentally held down the 3 button to long: $30 -> $330. I called the restaurant, they went through their receipts and refunded my money with an apology.

Morals:
1. Everyone is not out to get you.
2. Be nice to your less-than-minimum-wage waiter.

36.

Rodney
November 16th, 2007 at 4:00 pm

Why not just keep your copy of the receipt, and if it doesn’t match the bill, call the restaurant? This seems needlessly complicated, especially if you use Quicken.

37.

Nick W
November 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pm

What’s the big deal? Who needs a checksum procedure?

After you write the tip in, you put a squiggly line to the left of it that touches the dollar number:

25.00
~~~5.00
———-
30.00

Or if you are leaving the tip on the table. you put a squiggly line over the tip line:

25.00
~~~~
——-
25.00

This will make it obvious if anyone has tried to add a number to yours. Just like when you write a check; you don’t leave any blank space to the left of the dollar figure.

Make your 3s with a flat top. Make your 9s and 6s with straight up and down lines. Make your 5 with a square top, not like an S.

Nobody will fuck with your tip. They’ll fuck with someone else’s that’s easier.

This is not rocket science.

38.

khatty86
November 17th, 2007 at 5:37 pm

Simple – leave an appropriate tip!!! 20 % – and if you decide to camp out at the table ad take up the time the server could have been makeing money you should tip for that to!

39.

Matt
November 19th, 2007 at 1:50 pm

I managed a restaurant for three years, and the more pressing problem is servers trying to defraud the restaurant out of money. At least where I worked, every receipt was subject to audit, and if a server were caught inflating a tip, they would have been subject to disciplinary action, as well as open to criminal prosecution. As a matter of fact, we fired a food runner during a shift when we learned from a previous employer that he had been charged with credit card fraud.

It was my experience that the sort of customers who worried about overcharges on their bills either didn’t properly understand how to read a bill, or were the type of parsimonious jerks that run the risk of bad things happening to them because they’re rude and obnoxious, not because their servers are trying to scam them out of an extra $5 or $10. My advice would be to either come to grips with the fact that tipping is just as much a part of service etiquette as getting your drink refilled on time, and that you should take care of your server the way you’d like to be taken care of if you were in the position of dealing with someone like you for two hours.

You should also bear in mind that you have a stove at home and most likely a grocery store nearby if you’re unhappy about the arrangement.

40.

Pete Camper
November 19th, 2007 at 10:57 pm

Want 20%? Earn it.

15% is the default for adequate service. Service with a snarl gets you even less. Try to rip someone off because that’s easier than doing your job? Have a nice time in jail.

41.

Paul
November 20th, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Palindromes are much quicker to look for in a credit card statement. That Windows Mobile solution is a great app that lets users quickly calculate this. If you’re an iPhone user & want this capability you can use tipTapp at http://www.sixteenseven.com/tiptapp

42.

rocketc
January 4th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

Huh. very interesting and complicated. and i am really late to this party. nice post

43.

Damien
January 10th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

I eat out at restaurants almost every night (literally) and I almost always put it on my card. But I also use Quicken to an extremely anal degree and every night I input all the days expenses into it (after any purchase throughout the day I type it into my PDA). So I would always know if my card was charged more because it wouldn’t match when I download my transactions. I’ve been doing this for years and NOT ONCE have I been overcharged by a restaurant. And I am not exaggerating when I say I eat out at restaurants almost every single night and put the bill on my card.

I also think calling the cops about this is crazy. I don’t know where you live, I live in a major metro area and if I called the cops because I was overcharged a few bucks from a restaurant I’m sure they would literally laugh in my face. At minimum all you’re doing is wasting your own time. The best thing to do is just call the restaurant and tell the manager. I’m sure they can look up who the server was and if they’ve gotten a few complaints they would probably fire the guy/girl which is punishment enough.

44.

Credit Safe
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm

Never thought of a checksum for the real world! Great tip, though I always compare my bill with my statement. Caught more than one um … “error” … this way.

45.

Tim
February 4th, 2008 at 9:46 am

I liked this idea a lot. I came up with an iPhone web app to help out with this calculation, because I wanted to start using it but found the math to be a little too difficult on a full tummy. Check it out on your iPhone at http://tippytops.net/iphone/tip/

46.

PDA lover
February 19th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Well…the methods used by these cheating servers is quite smart.

I think one of the good methods to prevent cheating servers is by becoming a good boss.

When your employee have respect and you or even admire you, you can guarantee that you’ll have very few cheaters in your business establishment.

Bad boss will surely get a lot of cheater employees .

47.

M.V.P.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:48 pm

Great idea, thieves suck. There are two reasons servers steal from their guests; 1. Greed 2. Ire from a guests bad tip. Greed you can’t control, we all know that. In the situation when you feel you have to leave a bad tip, let the server AND the manager know why the service was bad (no drink refills, attitude, long wait for food, etc…). 9 out of 10 times the server will understand and apologize sincerely and the meal will be comped. Just remember, the server doesn’t cook the food, so if you don’t like what you ordered, it’s not their fault. Just be fair, servers generally make between $2-3/Hr before tips. Not all servers are thieves, just honest people trying to make a living like everyone else.

48.

Amber
April 26th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

Okay so I’m a server and I came on this website to find out some answers about the whole credit card thing….. my deal is some guy tip’d me and another server double because he said we were fantastic…. and he already informed me that he knew that there was a gratuity. So here’s my question….LEGALLY…can his wife call in the next day and ask for that tip to be put back on the credit card even though it’s not her credit card…and she could be anybody….and she didn’t come in with an picture id with a matching credit card or nothing…she lied and said it was hers..but it was in his name!? i just think it’s retarded……… thats between them…I think…. I already payed bills with that money and everything and now i’m out of pocket! and i had to stay late as hell that night so i was happy that he compensated us for our time ya know???? Is that legal…what that women did?

49.

Derek
May 12th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

Wow, this is a fantastic idea. True its not foolproof, but I doubt any server would take the time to even notice such a system (unless they’re reading this right now :O).

50.

anon server
May 26th, 2008 at 12:43 am

This is basically ridiculous, if you tip your server twenty percent, they won’t steal from you. Ever think of that? Of course not, because people are too cheap to give any type of ‘gratuity’. Verbal gratuities not counting. We have to pay our rent and car payments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Amber, I’ve had people come in asking for a refund after realizing gratuity had been added onto their check and then paying double the tip. (Actually, not really double, since they’d been planning on tipping only 10% anyway, and gratuity for large parties is usually 18%.) Anyway, it’s the wife’s problem that her husband tipped you extra! I’m not sure whether or not it’s legal to give back the money, but I know that the restaurant I work at would probably give back the money out of the restaurant’s money rather than yours, if the man had come in with the wife, showed a picture ID, gave his credit card, and asked for a refund. Otherwise, if the husband was not present in the demand for a refund, it probably could not be done.

But, I’ve also had people try to use gift cards that they probably thought had more money on them than they actually did, and not give enough money to cover the bill. I’ve had people WALK OUT on the bill, making me responsible for paying the ENTIRE BILL out of my POCKET. I’ve had people tip A DOLLAR because the kitchen was backed up on a Saturday night and there was nothing I could do about it. Please understand that most servers NEED to make money; to support their children/family, to pay rent, car payments, mortgage, etc. Most times our efforts are not careless. Kitchen staff is paid by the hour, so if they mess something up, it’s not their problem. It instantly becomes the server’s problem, because we are the ones who walk out of the restaurant at night with barely enough money to pay our bills.

WE DO NOT GET PAYCHECKS EITHER! Understand this! We NEED your tips! True, many servers work to make extra money, but most work out of financial NECESSITY!!! Many are college students trying to pay tuition, or young adults trying to support their families. Please be sensitive to this.

That’s all..

TIP 20% !!!

51.

anon server
May 26th, 2008 at 12:45 am

By the way, servers actually “make” $2.13/hour in the U.S. by law. However, this hourly rate is deducted from our paychecks to compensate for taxes not taken out of cash tips received at night. Therefore, our checks for about 30 hours a week are usually ZERO DOLLARS. I have never, ever received a paycheck from work because the government takes this money as taxes. So we don’t even actually ever see that $2.13/hr until we do our taxes each year. Just a fun fact for you.

52.

indyserver
May 26th, 2008 at 2:56 pm

I HAVE SERVED FOR MANY YEARS. MOST SERVERS HAVE TO INPUT THEIR CREDIT CARD TIPS AT THE END OF THE SHIFT. THE ESTABLISHMENT I WORKED AT HAD A TOUCH SCREEN AND WAS QUITE SENSITIVE. I HAVE NEVER MADE SUCH A MISTAKE, BUT BEFORE YOU GET ANGRY, REALIZE THAT MISTAKES ARE POSSIBLE IN SUCH A FAST PACED WORK PLACE. ANY RESPECTABLE MANAGER OR OWNER WILL NOTICE FRAUD AND TAKE ACTION.
ALSO, REMEMBER THAT THE SERVER IS ONLY THAT, AND LATE FOOD, OR INCORRECTLY PREPARED FOOD IS SOMEONE ELSE’S FAULT. ASKING TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER IS ALWAYS A GREAT IDEA IF DISSATISFIED. MOST SERVERS HAVE TO REPORT TIPS FOR FOOD EVEN IF THE CUSTOMER DID NOT HAVE TO PAY, SO DONT NOT TIP JUST BECAUSE THE MANAGER TOOK CARE OF YOUR BILL. MANY TIMES I HAVE HAD TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE’S MISTAKES. TALKING TO THE MANAGER IS THE BEST COURSE FOR ANY PROBLEM THE SERVER COULD NOT OR DID NOT FIX. ONCE WE HAD A COOK WHO WAS PLANNING ON WALKING OUT. HE THREW AWAY OVER THIRTY TICKETS, WITHOUT MAKING THEM. HE WAS ON GRILL COOKING ALL STEAKS(AT A STEAKHOUSE)CHICKEN,PORK, ETC. EVERYTHING HAD TO BE ENTERED INTO THE COMPUTER AGAIN. AT THIS PARTICULAR RESTAURANT AND MOST OTHERS, A TICKET PRINTS FOR THE SALAD GUY, ONE FOR THE GRILL, AND ANOTHER FOR THE FOOD PREP LINE. SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE NOTICED EARLIER, BUT ONLY THE SERVERS DID. ALL THE OTHER EMPLOYEES WERE HOURLY, AND TIPS DID NOT EFFECT THEM.

A SERVER IS ONLY THAT, YET HE USUALLY SUFFERS FOR THE MISTAKES OR INEFFICIANCY OF OTHERS. SO ALWAYS ASK FOR A MANAGER. LASTLY, WAS YOUR SERVER EXCELLENT? ASK FOR THE MANAGER, TELL THEM HOW WELL YOU SERVER DID! ASK FOR THEM WHEN YOU DINE THERE AGAIN. AS A SERVER, IT ALWAYS FELT GREAT TO GET A COMPLEMENT,EVEN IF THE TIP WAS LESS THAN EXPECTED!

53.

indyserver
May 26th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION, IF YOU DINED AT A CHAIN, THEN GO TO THE WEBSITE WITH COMPLEMENTS , COMMENTS AND OR COMPLAINTS. THEY USUALLY RESPOND ACCORDINGLY. DO NOT ATTACK THE SERVER FOR ALL MISTAKES BUT ADDRESS THEM ABOUT THEM. NO PROBLEM WILL BE FIXED IF YOU SAY NOTHING! ALL GOOD SERVERS KNOW THAT YOUR SATISFACTION IS THE MAIN FACTOR FOR THEIR INCOME! MANAGERS KNOW YOUR SATISFACTION IS A FACTOR IN FUTURE VISITS. IF, AFTER ADDRESSING ANY PROBLEMS WITH YOUR SERVER, AND YOU STILL FEEL THINGS ARE NOT RESOLVED, THEN CONTACT THE MANAGER. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE FOOD, PLEASE REALIZE THE SERVER PROBABLY DID NOT PREPARE IT. IT COULD BE BECAUSE OF ANY ONE OF A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE PREPARING, PURCHASING, OR RUNNING YOUR FOOD. I UNDERSTAND YOU WORK HARD FOR YOUR MONEY! I ALWAYS GIVE MY BEST TO ENSURE YOU GET YOUR MONEYS WORTH. I ONLY GET PAID IF YOU TIP. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT YOU SHOULD CONTACT A MANAGER IF A SERVER DOES NOT ADDRESS A PROBLEM…BUT MAKE SURE YOU MENTION BEFORE GETTING THE MANAGER! IF THE MANAGER DOES NOTHING, PLEASE TIP THE SERVER IF THEY ARE NOT THE CAUSE! IF A MANAGER DOES NOTHING, TRY CONTACTING THE OWNER AND/OR CORPORATE OFFICE.

54.

Bill Mueller
June 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

I notice most people here are worried about servers stealing money. I have never seen this happen but I have seen many people tipping less than 15% sometimes nothing at all and thinking this is perfectly acceptable. Servers depend on these tips the same way you depend on your paycheck. When people tip 2 dollars on a thirty dollar check you are screwing them big time, especially is they have to tip out bus boys, bartenders and hosts. They end up paying for a portion of your meal. Tipping well does not mean 15% either it means tipping 20-25% of your bill. Stop worrying about getting ripped off and start thinking about the people that your greedy obese asses are ripping off.

55.

Josh
June 15th, 2008 at 7:37 pm

Better idea

How about
1. Don’t go to restaurants
2. Don’t tip
3. Always keep your costs low, so you’d know immediately. (I never pay more than $20, so I notice every buck)
4. Pay in cash, see what they steal.

56.

Dave
June 30th, 2008 at 11:55 pm

Bill Mueller, tipping well is 15% for decent service. As a server that is what I expect for standard service. Am I greedy and would like 20% yes, but realize that 20% is for great, going above and beyond type service at least in the Chicago area.

57.

Aimee
July 5th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

Does anyone know which line you should take when there are obvious math errors? Say a bill was $39, they wrote $5 on the tip line, then wrote $34 as their total? Obvious math mistake, but legally, which is better “okay”….to put in the $5 or to put 0 for the tip?

58.

Aaron
July 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm

This is great information. I have always wondered if they were sneaky enough to try to rip you off and get extra tip money. This is a very decent method of outsmarting them!

59.

Michael
July 29th, 2008 at 4:18 pm

And what if you have tip lines for counter service restaurants? I frequent counter service pizza parlors a lot of the time. What do people do when there’s a tip line here?

60.

how to draw
August 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

hmmmm, excellent advice, however it involves too much math, perhaps the tip of “go back to school” is the only tip one should leave a server.

Harsh yes, bound to be the thing that kills a perfectly good date, absolutely.

But perhaps they will go back to school and no longer have to whine about not being being paid $25 an hour to do an incredibly unskilled job.

Another tip for servers and bartenders, if you do not smile and act like bringing me food and drink is the last thing in the world you want to do and that you are praying for the courage to slip arsenic in my food just to relieve your boredom by watching me convulse to death, do not expect any monetary compensation from me or other patrons.

61.

Credit Card Debt Help
August 12th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Wow, that is kinda genius. I don’t think I have ever had this happen to me though, but I might just start doing it just in case.

62.

Incredibly Unskilled Worker
August 26th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

hmmmm, excellent advice, however it involves too much math, perhaps the tip of “go back to school” is the only tip one should leave a server.

That’s a great idea; it had never occurred to me to go back to school. I’m going to be sure to tell all my server friends, too, so that next time you go out to eat you’ll have to get your own damn food.

63.

Sander
August 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

I just came upon this post because I recently had tip-inflation perpetrated against me. Some great advice and stories. I love the checksum procedure and will employ it hence forth.

Some other thoughts:

First, whether one “deserves” this to happen to him is irrelevant. I get that it probably wouldn’t happen if the patron wasn’t cheap, but that doesn’t make it ok. Being wronged by a jerk/bad tipper yourself does not justify perpetrating a greater (and codified crime) wrong against that person. If someone cuts me off on the highway or flips me the bird, can I run him off the road or slash his tires when he parks? After all, he was being a jerk and probably deserved it, right?

Next, I do tip for service, and I am by no means maniacally anal in “looking” for reasons to deduct percentage. My thought is that a disproportionately good tip for poor service perpetuates the problem. I get that servers need the money, but that is even more reason for them to perform if they want to be rewarded. If the service is lousy or slow, I do try to determine if it is the server’s fault or the kitchen. However, even if it is not directly the server’s fault, rewarding such service will do nothing to change it. By adjusting the tip slightly, one hopes that the servers will get the picture and demand better performance by the rest of the team. Again, a high tip in such a situation just perpetuates the issue for other diners. Note, though, that I’m not a miser, nor do I shaft the server when this happens. I might just not leave as much as I would otherwise (perhaps 14%, just enough to get the server’s attention that all was not right without screwing him). Also, for me, this isn’t a one way street, I regularly leave 20-25% for good service. My baseline is 16-18% for adequate service. Indeed, it is a very rare event that I leave less than 15%. (also, I love the ribald comment about olive garden! I absolutely agree, and if I’m at a big-box restaurant, I don’t expect perfection, just par for that venue. A few foibles is part of the deal, and I usually leave 18-20%. But if the restaurant is charging $25-35+/entree, the service should reflect that price).

Not all servers get less than minimum wage. States, in their discretion, may opt out of the federal server wage of ~$2 and make it higher. Minnesota, where I live, requires servers be paid the true minimum wage, and the tips they receive is in addition to that.

Finally, I will note that the adjustment made to me was on a bill for which I tipped 18%. There were no issues at the restaurant, and certainly nothing about our interaction with the server that would have indicated that she might feel compelled to exact criminal revenge upon us. Alas, it seemed to be sheer greed, upping the final amount of the bill by a few dollars (so that the bill was 59 instead of 57, lest we notice 60+ on our statement).

64.

ChangeOfFate
August 30th, 2008 at 2:57 am

I’m not condoning what servers do (the bad ones) but people do need to stop tipping like it’s 1950.

10% is no longer the standard tip. 15% 18% 20% are the average, good and excellent service tips. Try waiting tables to pay for college and you’ll realize how quickly you rely on the generosity of your customers. Once again I in no way condone this malicious action but leaving $3 dollars on a $30 check? Let’s be reasonable here.

$2.13/hr that’s one of the FEW hourly par rates that have never changed with the economy and the increasing minimum wage.

e-mail me if you want to talk about it.
changeoffate@gmail.com

65.

Programmer in NJ
September 9th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

Man, I have a hard enough time calculating the 2.3% I’m gonna leave as a tip, now I gotta do all this extra math?

66.

stupid server
September 19th, 2008 at 1:19 am

“hmmmm, excellent advice, however it involves too much math, perhaps the tip of “go back to school” is the only tip one should leave a server. Harsh yes, bound to be the thing that kills a perfectly good date, absolutely. But perhaps they will go back to school and no longer have to whine about not being being paid $25 an hour to do an incredibly unskilled job.”

I love how people have a mind set like this. Believe it or not its stressful listening to people like you that are so unhappy with life and take it out on people serving you like we are you b**** then leaving us 2 dollars. A gallon of gas cost more than that. And then the whole go to school thing. Not all servers are lazy and use serving as a way of getting by. Being a full time college student and working at a rest to pay bills and you want to talk down to people for working somewhere that isn’t 9 to 5 and do depend on tips to make due.I would hope any server rips you off or does something to your food because it happens more than you think. Never be rude or inconsiderate to the person handling your food.

67.

Instant Loan
September 24th, 2008 at 11:27 am

So its way better to pay cash. No hidden charges or any financial stress in the future unlike using credit card for purchases.

68.

Erosion Control Services
October 15th, 2008 at 5:51 pm

Never gave a thought to this. I’m gonna watch it now though. Or maybe pay cash. Seems like a lot of trouble – you sure made stupid server mad!

69.

horoskop
November 28th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

I almost always tip in cash, and leave a $0.00 tip on my card.

70.

indonesian
December 20th, 2008 at 4:56 pm

I never found such a thieving in high reputation restaurant in my country. BUt if they did they bet their reputation , if someone knows the restaurant would be sued by their own customer. I usually give an extra tip for the waitress when she bills me and I pay cash (same idea with rstlne above).. Using credit card for paying food I think it’s not a good idea — you know,– more debt just for “high class” food. Ohh, please no. Ask your wife to cook if you have no money.

71.

kb
February 15th, 2009 at 4:03 pm

everybody should have to work a week as a server before they are aloud to eat out or respond to this crap. I am pissed because ive been a server since i was 14. I have had to work holidays and days when i wanted to do something becuase thats how the buisness works. You get off when they tell you. If its busy and you have been there since 7:00am guess what you are there till 12 am….yes it has happened to me. And you are not mandated to get a break. Some nights servers work 8-10 shifts where they never get a chance to go to the bathroom.
You should all try having 4 tables with people at different points in their meals, and no everything is not in your control

everything is computerized now, so u have to wait for a computer to enter your order, you have to wait for a computer to print the bill, you have to wait for a computer to change orders or swipe cards,
you also have to wait for a bartender to make your drinks, the kitchen to cook your food cause guess what servers do not cook the food, dont know if u knew that so if takes awhile to get ur food you might want to look around….if you had to wait and hour or two for your food your an idiot if you think your food will be out in less than half an hour
And if you use cash your server has to go wait in line to have it broken down if its not exact and you are not giving them the change…and guess what if theres a line for take out and the bar is crowded your server has to wait for that change
I used to love waitressing but after working at “the cheesecake factory” where idiots come in because its like a prada purse to them and they can not afford it or to cheap and leave me next to nothing after i busted my ass and i have to tip out 5 % of my sales….not my tips…my sales……no matter what i made and i leave with less than i tipped out for the day i am pissed.

And not to mention that some idiots out there can not add and mess up there own slips is another point totally.

72.

kb
February 15th, 2009 at 4:05 pm

and by the way programmer i would not go back to any place twice if u leave 2.3 % because servers do remember people….or at leate i do and i would just refuse to serve you buyt others would do things…..watch the movie “waiting” then maybe you might think twice!!

73.

montreal mortgage
May 1st, 2009 at 8:44 am

10% is no longer the standard tip. 15% 18% 20% are the average, good and excellent service tips.
but still, everything depends of the service, sometime i don’t wont to tip at all

74.

waiter
May 6th, 2009 at 10:25 pm

this calculation is very helpful.everybody follow this calculation.anytime i am going hotel i am giving tips.it is very informative blog.thank u for sharing.

75.

Craig
May 18th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Hi,

Thanks for the great article!

I’ve got a question though: What do you do if the TOTAL is 66.00? 6+6 is 12 so would I make the total 66.12 or would I put it as 66.02?

Thanks for any help,

Craig

76.

bingo codes
May 24th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

nice tip! no pun intended.

77.

juni
May 26th, 2009 at 3:30 am

Thanks for the great article!

I’ve got a question though: What do you do if the TOTAL is 66.00? 6+6 is 12 so would I make the total 66.12 or would I put it as 66.02?

Thanks for any help,
http://www.wowgold-powerleveling.com/

78.

Jennifer
May 28th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Thanks for the great tips! My sister was a victim of this a few times, I’m going to forward this article to her. I also learned a lot. I usually put a huge $ sign in front and circle both numbers so they can’t change it. San Mateo Restaurants

79.

merchant accounts
June 1st, 2009 at 2:24 am

Hello. I have never had a credit card and I’m really tired of carrying all this annoying cash about me. But I am afraid that I can miss or delay monthly credit card bill and it will end up in a debt. Hello, your site leaves an impression! It’s utterly important that the site should be created by experts, especially a credit related site.

80.

One Time Arclight Customer
June 12th, 2009 at 6:41 pm

I had a server steal from me at the Arclight in Hollywood. The service was TERRIBLE. We saw out server 3 times for the 45 minute meal.

1) take the drink and food order (since we waited so long to see him)
2) delivery the food and drinks
3) give us the bill.

He was more interested in the friends that were there at the time, so I tipped him $1.

When I got home I recorded the transaction in Quicken and had a pleasant weekend. When I reconciled the account a few days later, the receipt from the Arclight was $9 more than I paid (including tip), so the jerk added a zero behind the 1 in the $1.00 top and tried to rob me.

The bank was very helpful, since I had my copy of the receipt and I got my $9 back. I also called the Arclight and called shenanigans against the waiter (who’s name I wrote down because of the bad service). Not sure if the Archlight ever did anything, other than being apologetic and I have not set foot in that place since then.

I have also started to “checksum” my restaurant tips/totals since then.

81.

Mayhem
June 12th, 2009 at 6:45 pm

kb.. I remember when tips were addons for good service and not expected. Should be lucky to get 2.3% or ANY type of type if bad service is given to a customer.

If I leave a tip lower than 10%, I’m never going back to that establishment anyway.

82.

RikF
June 12th, 2009 at 10:15 pm

Surely the solution is for restaurants/bars etc. to start actually paying at least min. wage to servers etc. Why is this a hard concept? Yes, the customer ends up paying them by a less direct route, but then they know that, at a minimum, they’ll be going home with a living wage, the same as every other (myself currently included) min. wage worker

83.

Noel
June 13th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

Spot the spam comment @ #79!

84.

Crazytree
June 13th, 2009 at 11:16 pm

This is the OP of the original Fatwallet thread, and I approve of this blog.

85.

Crazytree
June 13th, 2009 at 11:17 pm

Oh, and I have a penis.

Apparently this was an outstanding issue in the original blog posting.

86.

JimN
June 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

I pay my tips in cash like several others have mentioned. However, don’t write 0.00 on the tip line, too easy to add a one and get 10.00.

Write the word CASH on the tip line. Very hard to change the meaning and it also prevents the server from claiming you left 0.00 and stiffed them.

Hey, I pay my taxes, they should too.

87.

HikingStick
June 15th, 2009 at 9:20 am

You can also hand-write the total amount along the length of the receipt. “Fourty-nine and 36/100 dollars” provides another way to ensure the correct amount is reflected on the receipt. I also tend to tip cash, and will line out the “TIP” section on the receipt, and will always fill in the total amount with very blocky letters (so any attempts to make fives into sixes will be more obvious).

88.

detailing
June 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

wow! i never would have ever even thought to double-check these thieves! i guess being a generous tipper is a good deterrent, but what if you get a bad server to begin with?

89.

William
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:20 pm

I’ve been in the food service industry for many, many years and your article seems rather biased against the server. First of all, I can tell you as a matter of fact by experience that most people who tip poorly will do so whether they had poor service or a 5 star experience. In addition, people who tip poorly for good service outnumber those who intentionally tip poorly specifically for bad service by an easy 10 to 1 margin. There are many more competent to good servers than bad ones.
As far as this kind of thievery goes, I’ve seen it myself. It goes to the moral status of the individual and not some commonly practiced deception learned at some evil server boot camp as you would like to disturb the reader into thinking.
What isn’t mentioned here is the money that is TAKEN away from the server when they earned it by completing their job correctly. There is a reason why many places have an automatic tip at certain table sizes. This is because the customer who will “steal” from the server by not paying him for the job he did far outnumber the servers who will steal from the customers by tip fraud.
We are one of the very rare job areas that rely on the customer to honestly and morally pay the appropriate salary for the work we’ve done, and provide clear guidelines for appropriate tipping procedures. Sadly, because it is in the customers right to refuse to pay us for the work they’ve contracted us to do, they often do just that, not because the service was bad but because of the economy, their newborn baby, or rising gas prices. Many have told me just that, as they leave me empty handed after complimenting my service.
I’d like to see just one of you walk into Publix, get $100 in groceries, and give the cashier $80, saying “sorry, I have a newborn”, and attempt to leave the store with everything.
My point is that there are more problems with people who take money out of my familys mouths that with my co-workers taking money out of theirs. But of course that side is never explored fully because then you’d have to look at yourselves in the mirror.
Having said that, most customers are a joy to wait on and do tip fairly. It’s the customers that sometimes make the intense and demonding job tolerable. It’s just that you sound like you single us out as if we’re the only ones capable of these type of actions.
Anyway, off topic a bit and long I apologize but just pay all tips in cash TO the waiters hand as even the HOSTESS and the OWNER or the busperson can be the thief as well and always cross out the tip lines thoroughly in pen.

90.

dedicated game servers
June 28th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

this is so bad that waiters would do this. This is so deceiving to this. They definitely need to be prosecuted for this. This is so tricky to do this.

91.

Chicken Recipes
June 30th, 2009 at 11:10 pm

Never been caught out like that. I do tip quite well though most of the time at around 20% to 30% depending on the service level. On a very rare occasion when I have had really bad service I have made a point of paying cash, giving no tip at all and letting them know why.

92.

William
July 5th, 2009 at 3:06 am

I neglected to add something in my last post, and this is important… VERY important. Before you jump down the waiters throat for working your credit card it’s also possible that it’s the host or hostess who’s responsible. Or the busboy who has your CC#… I quit my last job because the owners wife, who was also the hostess, stole around $50 a night by ringing our tips up to the house and probably adding to them as well… yes, it was really horrible working at HOWARD’s RESTAURANT of ENGLEWOOD FLORIDA… also dont order top shelf liquor there, they fill the Grey Goose bottle with well vodka. Lesson: EVERYONE sucks!!! Not just waiters!

93.

domain renewal
July 11th, 2009 at 12:13 am

crime is definitely going up. There are so many scams out there.

94.

Sexy SMS
July 13th, 2009 at 4:32 am

One of my friends was caught in this type scam and this gave me a chance to beware of this sort of criminal activities taking place on public spots.

95.

make money
July 14th, 2009 at 11:48 am

Thanks for this Very nice article

Regards

96.

how to stop cravings
July 17th, 2009 at 8:11 am

Cool tip! Although I a not sure how much maths I want to do after having a nice meal and a glass of red wine …
Admittedly, I never noticed having my tip changed, but what is a problem is the restaurants charging you on your bill more than you had (or charging you for the more expensive bottle of wine that you just decided not to go for).
This is not for the benefit of the server and probably accidental, but it does happen quite a lot!

97.

Richard
July 17th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

How about don’t be cheap and don’t eat out if you can’t afford to leave a decent tip?

98.

Jennifer
July 17th, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Good gracious…I tip 10% for take-out! (and 25% for sit-down service.)

99.

Marco
July 20th, 2009 at 11:03 am

I do not believe in tipping people to perform the job they were hired to do.

100.

st
July 26th, 2009 at 7:47 pm

I was on vacation this week and ate in restaurants twice a day for ten days. Checking my debit statements, I have noticed that NOT ONE server took my tip. In other words, I gave tips on credit cards 20 times. And out of those 20 times, the only thing i was charged is my original bill. WHY? I actually went online to find out if servers actually get the tip on credit card since looking at my receipts, the purchase was already rung and authorized before I signed it. And my credit card number was not on the receipt anywhere, so how are they getting their tips? I feel really bad because that means 20 excellent servers did not get a tip from me and my party of between two and six people. Any one know why my tips were not taken?

101.

Andrew
August 11th, 2009 at 7:29 pm

Marco (2 up) come in to the restaurant I work at, tell me when I greet you that you “don’t believe in tipping people for a job they were hired to do” and then we’ll see how long it takes to get your food, how long it takes to get refills if you get any at all, and how nice your experience is. The job we are hired to do is take your order and deliver your food. Whether that takes 15 minutes or 45 minutes, and whether you get refills and a smile depends on the tip we anticipate getting. Also, if you are a regular customer at a restaurant and don’t tip, you better hope that you’re not recognized because not only will you get bad service, but you may have icky things put in your food. Watch the movie “Waiting” and you’ll get an idea of what can happen.

102.

Natalie
September 11th, 2009 at 4:08 am

I am somewhat offended by the title “Fight Thieving Restaurant Servers…” Yes, I am a server but I also have a great deal of integrity. At the end of my shift yesterday when I was entering my credit card tips, I had to dock myself a dollar on an already low tip because the guest had their total wrong. So although the tip line said $5.00 on a $28.XX check, they put the total as $32.XX, which is the line I have to go by. It’s really obnoxious to have customers who come in and act like they are so much smarter than I am, then “mess up” on simple addition. Or they fill out the credit card receipt and “accidentally” take the Merchant Copy, leaving a blank Customer Copy with the imprint of what they wrote on the receipt that I need to claim my tip. I call it a ghost tip, I can see what I would have gotten if they hadn’t taken my copy. But I circle “Merchant Copy” and so I think they are thieving customers who are ashamed of themselves, as they should be. Maybe we could come up with a clever way to make sure customers don’t make “mistakes” like that anymore.

103.

Paul
October 19th, 2009 at 6:42 am

Obviously there are both honest and dishonest servers in the restaurant industry. But the same can be said about any industry – services contractors such as plumbers, electricians, accountants, mortgage agents, and even health care professionals. I believe that the above is an issue, but not the only industry where the net results is the consumer is out more money than what they originally bargained for. All that said, it’s good to learn exactly how the mechanics of the ripoff happen, and what to do to protect myself. Thanks for the post.

104.

lewis
December 11th, 2009 at 7:19 am

just to leave a note here, if your thinking to leave a tip to appreciate your waiters good service, leave it in cash or else the company will always take a good percentage of it plus tax over it which gives your waiter about only 60% of the money you gave him, giving like this massive amounts of money to the company… so dont tip on cards or even leave service charge, leave a tip for your waiter and not for the restaurant profit…

105.

shelby
January 13th, 2010 at 3:09 am

This is retarded. I’ve been a server for almost nine years and have never seen of anyone doing this (and trust me servers like to share things to one another!) How about telling us how to protect ourselves against terrible tips or when you brilliant diners conveniently take both copies of the credit card receipt?! Also, most people don’t realize that we don’t generally keep that whole tip… we tip out the hosts, bussers, bartenders, and other working areas of the restaurant. Lastly, we put up with alot of BS because people are picky about their food.

106.

Nuge81
January 25th, 2010 at 5:45 pm

In response to lewis. It is 100% illegal for any restaurant to take any amount of a service charge left for a server/bartender on a credit card slip. They do get taxed extra on these because it is automatically added to their income (cash is left up to the server to declare).
I have been a restaurant manager for years, and was a server for 10 years before that. I have never seen or heard of anyone changing the numers on a credit card slip to adjust for a shitty tip. I HAVE heard never ending complaining from staff about the lack of tips they’ve recieved even for excellent service. I take pride in my staff that we’ve hired at my establishment (which is a nice restaurant in a busy city not olive garden). Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of bad people out there, and bad servers who may do this and i have just never heard, but the biggest percentage we are dealing with is the amount of assholes who eat out thinking that the tip starts at 0 and moves up due to service. There are never ending things that get in the way of amazing service. More things than anyone who has never worked in the restaurant business will EVER know or understand. Believe me i have tried to explain to the general public all the things that happen in restaurants and it is usually on deaf ears that i try to justify a late soda, or check.
i could continue on in this way for days. I guess i’ll just end with i believe every person should work in the service industry for a semester in high school or college to really understand what we go through and how horrible the general public really can be.

107.

Jane
January 26th, 2010 at 1:17 pm

I have never paid attention to my bills but my son was a waiter through college and told me it was relatively common for people to do that.. especially when they felt cheated by their tip.