Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
Have you noticed that, as soon as you provide a credit card, they charge your account immediately, before you have added the tip and signed the receipt? Then, later they modify the charge to include the tip. I always use cash in restaurants.
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That's the way credit card machines are set up to work, at least in the US where we add a tip. No one is trying to steal from you; in fact, they are just trying to do what you asked them to do:
- They presented you with a number (the bill) and you handed them your card
- They charged your card for the amount on the bill
- They presented you a receipt showing the time, date, amount charged, and card used
- YOU (the customer, not RG123 who pays in cash) chose to change the number by adding a tip
- They took the signed receipt, with the changes you made and signed for
- Later, when they weren't busy serving other customers, they went back to the computer to adjust the total per your instructions.
The only time this doesn't happen is with the newer systems where they hand the computer to you to finish the process. This works but is slower for the server who has to wait for you to figure out how to use the system, figure out what tip to add, and figure out which direction to insert your card all while they are standing at your table and not bringing food to one of their other customers. I've seen fairly intelligent people struggle to figure out how much a 20% tip would be and was glad my food wasn't held up for the time it took them to do the calculation.