Check your receipts?
In the past couple of weeks, two of my very favorite restaurants in town have overcharged my credit card for tip. I won’t mention who they are because they are so beloved to me that I don’t want to throw them under a bus just because they’ve made a mistake….but twice in two weeks? Has […]
In the past couple of weeks, two of my very favorite restaurants in town have overcharged my credit card for tip. I won’t mention who they are because they are so beloved to me that I don’t want to throw them under a bus just because they’ve made a mistake….but twice in two weeks? Has anyone else noticed anything like this? I’ve always been really good about checking my receipts against my bank statement, but I’ve never actually had any discrepancies.
I guess it’s possible that tip inflation could be a thing that restaurant employees do, but it seems silly that they’d do it to loyal regulars who try to tip generously anyway, so it’s gotta be a mistake, right?? RIGHT??
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Susan Howson
Susan Howson is managing editor for this very website. She writes THE BEST bios.
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I got in the habit a while ago to put dollar signs right next to the amount so no one could add on a number. Not that it would stop them from typing in something else. Did you contact them? It’s probably not the restaurant but the server?
I agree with not putting the restaurant up here, but you should call them. If it’s the server, they have a right to know that one of their employees is ripping people off.
One of them was the owner and one of them was a server who is a friend of mine, so I feel like it must be a mistake. I don’t want to call and get anyone in trouble for typing in the wrong number if that’s what it was. I think I’ll wait to see if there’s a repeat performance at either of these places before gently complaining.
You could also bring enough cash for a tip and leave that on the table and mark a big line through the tip portion of the charge slip so the serve doesn’t have to do any math when entering it into the credit system. They would just enter whatever was on the ticket before, which I would imagine is easier than trying to add dollars and cents on in their mind. I like this method; however I rarely have cash.
I have only had this happen once. And it was the server in my case. I contacted my credit card provider and went through the disputes process (since I had the evidence). A good reason to keep receipts and check your balance.
CALL THEM.
It could be the server. the servers might be counting on tons of people like you thinking it was an error, and padding their tips every now and again. I worked a restaurant where for 2 weeks a very good server added up over $500 dollars worth of petty larceny. She was fired, charged, and was all around not a happy camper.
It could also be a thing with the credit card server fee dealy, where they initially charge you a certain percentage of the bill, and then that charge is removed. As a server (and because I always thought it was BS), I was never able to explain to my customer’s satisfaction WHY it was there, so I always had the manager do it. Especially because my managers always said, “oh it’s nothing, it will be taken off in a day or two.” If it wasn’t, they were to call back. I never got calls saying it wasn’t. But I always got calls saying, “What’s this charge???”
So call them to find out. you may have caught a criminal or two.
Cash tip is a good idea. All cash can work too to avoid the whole ordeal… although I know that’s an antiquated concept.
I mean…
I’ve been a waitress for 10 (dear God) years. Chances are, the server only has to enter in a credit card total and confirm an automatically calculated amount when entering it into the system – regardless of how many dollar signs, squiggly lines, zeros, or whatever go on the tip line.
Also, sometimes if they have separate credit card machines, they can be numerically upside down from the other computers. I don’t know how many times I would accidentally enter 2’s for 8’s and vice versa. I caught it in time though!!!!!
It’s rare, but it happens when a server thinks they can buck the system unnoticed. You need to protect yourself. You’re best bet is to call the restaurant. They probably still have your receipt in house – but not for long. They may also have had other complaints where the common denominator turns out to be the server. It really blows for the restaurant when they found out one of their employees is stealing from their patrons – but if it’s the case, they need to know about it so that they may take the right actions. If you don’t find an explanation from the restaurant, then go to your credit card company. It may be an error on their part.
Don’t wait to see what happens next time. It’s YOUR money. And the longer you wait, the less you have for recourse.
As a restaurant owner I would say that we would rather know. In the restaurant business things that go wrong aren’t usually malicious, its just carelessness or lack of knowledge. My staff has to tip edit all our credit receipts at 3 a.m. The staff are tired and drunk people have scribbled all over them (the receipts not the staff!).And sometimes there are over a hundred receipts to go through. Mistakes are bound to be made.
I thought this happened to me once also.
It turned out that, for say a 45 dollar tab, the place in question was putting in the authorization request for about 20% more just to make sure you had funds. The result was that the pending in my bank account was more than what I’d actually tipped and when the transaction actually cleared, it was for the amount I actually tipped and was charged.
I was hot for a few days until I figured out what was happening.
Just to clear that point up: I (and I think most people who obsessively check their online banking) am fully aware of the “For a couple days the amount held on your account might not be the accurate amount you actually charged at the restaurant” thing (this also happens at the gas pump sometimes, FYI). This is not one of those situations.
I guess my reason for posting the thing was to see if anybody else had seen anything similar lately, so that I could pretend like I was in some film noir and be a hardboiled detective and uncover a nefarious tip inflation scheme. If it happens for a second time at one of these two places, I will certainly call!
Never use your debit card in a restaurant or gas pump. Dependant on the restaurant they will ‘hold’ between 20 and 30 percent for gratuity or late charges. As it is set in their computer systems the waiters have no control over this. Holds typically last for 24 to 48 hours. If you don’t have ample funds this can cause a cascade effect.
Gas pumps will authorize as little as $1 or in excess of $50 when you swipe your card at a pump (as gas prices increase the $1 is more rare and some are holding as much as $75) as the pump doesn’t know how much you are going to put into your tank. This ‘hold’ will also last 24 to 48 hours and cause you to either think you have more in your account or again cause multiple overdraws. You can avoid this by paying inside but that is no guarantee they won’t do a open ended swipe.
A hotel can hold hundreds, or even thousands, of your funds. If traveling use one card for the hotel and others for food and other goodies to avoid an unpleasant situation.