Watch your change

[Happinow]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

[Garywt]

There still is a change shortage but they seem to be handling it wrong. Of course I would probably say to them that you just chose your tip amount and call it a day. For me though I rarely have cash with me so everything goes on the card, that way there is no issue.

[bagboy]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

It's shocking that you don't carry a little rubber thing with coins for just these moments.

[Marathon Man]

It's shocking that you don't carry a little rubber thing with coins for just these moments.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[Marathon Man]

C'mon. Less than a dollar. Just add it to the tip. Of course, if one is the type that does not believe in tipping, then I guess less than a dollar would keep one from being happy now, and later.

A lot of people are having trouble making money to feed their family. I am thankful that I am not one of them. My tips have been larger than normal for these last several months. I figure, if I can afford to eat out, I can afford to help someone.

[dhsmith]

We’ve had two restaurants recently charge full price for drinks during happy hour, not sure if it’s restaurant management encouraging this practice or staff padding the bill for larger tip.
Buyer beware check those receipts.

[Bill14564]

///

[Bill14564]

Just an all-around bad policy by the restaurant.

If the restaurant wants to round down to the nearest dollar - fine.

If the restaurant posts a conspicuous notice as to their policy to round up so that I can make a decision on how I want to pay - fine.

Not informing me and then keeping my change - not fine

Expecting/requiring the servers to bring a pocket of change so the restaurant doesn't need to deal with it - not fine.

Can customers choose to round down to the nearest dollar citing the change shortage as a valid reason?

[Bogie Shooter]

It's shocking that you don't carry a little rubber thing with coins for just these moments.
/////

[Happinow]

C'mon. Less than a dollar. Just add it to the tip. Of course, if one is the type that does not believe in tipping, then I guess less than a dollar would keep one from being happy now, and later.

A lot of people are having trouble making money to feed their family. I am thankful that I am not one of them. My tips have been larger than normal for these last several months. I figure, if I can afford to eat out, I can afford to help someone.

You’ve missed the point.....of course I would add it to the tip, and I did, however that has to be MY choice, not theirs. Other people don’t get to decide what I do with MY money, no matter how small the change was.

[bilcon]

We’ve had two restaurants recently charge full price for drinks during happy hour, not sure if it’s restaurant management encouraging this practice or staff padding the bill for larger tip.
Buyer beware check those receipts.

Maybe the restaurant you went to for happy hour only includes house brands for their happy hour prices.

[Happinow]

It's shocking that you don't carry a little rubber thing with coins for just these moments.

I think it’s shocking that the SERVERS don’t carry a little rubber thing for coins just for these moments. It’s their responsibility to give the customer back the correct change.

[Stu from NYC]

It is all hanky panky

[John_W]

...

[Bill14564]

I haven't used cash in a restaurant in at least five years, or use cash anywhere. I'll get $200 out of the ATM and it will last a few months. Gas, restaurants, stores, I get one big credit card bill at the end of the month and I pay it online, it's so convenient I can't imagine fumbling with currency. You can write the tip on the bill, I always round it off. For example, if my restaurant bill is $23.20, I'll make the tip $6,80 so that it's a $30.00 charge on my account.

Plus by using a credit card, mine for example give 2% back, so if I have a $1500 monthly bill, I get $30 off. I guess I've been lucky, have not had anyone try and steal my card's info in the ten years I've lived here. The last time that happened was in North Carolina on my 2011 trip to Florida, we stayed in a North Carolina motel, a nice place. That week someone got a $1,000 cash advance at a North Carolina Walmart. I don't why or how they got away with that, but they did. I called the credit card company and it came off my bill and they gave me a new card.

Like you, I prefer the single large bill at the end of the month. All my expenses in one place and easy to find. Plus, I'm one of those people who reconciles the credit card statement. Rounding up to the nearest dollar like you describe makes it easy to notice suspicious charges.

[Lonnieme2]

Always count your change and especially so when getting fast food in the drive-thru. Take the extra second to count your money before pulling away. People in line behind you can wait and for those of you who travel the country, especially beware.
In the Metro Atlanta area, the workers keep more than just the coins! I am certain that this goes on elsewhere too. When I questioned one drive-thru worker who had shorted me $5, he instantly pulled the bill from underneath the register. I suppose he had a car payment due or maybe rent, so did not mess with stealing coins or even $1 bills. He definitely could have been a little less obvious about his scam!

[davefin]

Restaurants that do this only need to change their menu prices to whole dollars and include tax!

[Pairadocs]

C'mon. Less than a dollar. Just add it to the tip. Of course, if one is the type that does not believe in tipping, then I guess less than a dollar would keep one from being happy now, and later.

A lot of people are having trouble making money to feed their family. I am thankful that I am not one of them. My tips have been larger than normal for these last several months. I figure, if I can afford to eat out, I can afford to help someone.

I agree, I too have increased my tipping since all this began a year ago, just such difficult times for so many. Don't have a generous income but, at least (for the time being ?) I can still count on it and many can't. Having said all that, this new "tactic" doesn't really seem like the way to solve the situation. It smacks of dishonestly and to me, is likely to be interpreted differently by the various employees in an establishment. With some forethought, a business could have a sign to alert customers: During this time of shortage of coins, we ........ and explain the policy they follow. If rounded to the benefit of the customer, could simply say, please be mindful of this policy when making decisions concerning tipping. Or, any other way except a "questionable" policy like the one mentioned at several establishments.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

C'mon. Less than a dollar. Just add it to the tip. Of course, if one is the type that does not believe in tipping, then I guess less than a dollar would keep one from being happy now, and later.

A lot of people are having trouble making money to feed their family. I am thankful that I am not one of them. My tips have been larger than normal for these last several months. I figure, if I can afford to eat out, I can afford to help someone.

And some of us can afford to treat ourselves once in awhile, as long as someone else doesn't try to take advantage of it.

This happened to me at a place a couple of weeks ago. The tab came to something like 7.68 after tax. I was going to tip $2, which is higher than 20%, but the server was very pleasant.

I paid with a $10 bill and the server only gave me $2 back in singles, no change.

So I left $1, and the other 32 cents that he didn't bother giving me became the rest of his tip. His total tip $1.32 was still pretty close to 20% (before tax) but not nearly what it would've been, had he just given me the correct change.

I wouldn't have even thought about this when it happened, except it was the same server who did it to me the last time I was there. So I have to assume it was intentional.

[CWGUY]

:coolsmiley: Once upon a time in a land far far away .......:rolleyes:

[tsmall22204]

CREDIT CARD. No issue.

[davephan]

I heard many times that there’s a change shortage, but I also believe that many businesses are using the “change shortage” as an excuse to charge more.

When using your credit card, it’s very important that you don’t let the credit card leave your sight, where your credit card can be “skimmed”. Your credit card is very vulnerable to fraud, especially in Florida. It’s also very important to lock your three credit bureau’s. Most people don’t do that. You need to protect yourself from identity theft and credit card account theft.

[NY2TV]

Maybe the restaurant you went to for happy hour only includes house brands for their happy hour prices.

We went to dinner Sunday during "happy hour" and everyone's bill had full price drinks. When I brought it to the server's attention he said he forgot to hit the happy hour key on the register. So, yes, always check your bill.

[larbud]

You’ve missed the point.....of course I would add it to the tip, and I did, however that has to be MY choice, not theirs. Other people don’t get to decide what I do with MY money, no matter how small the change was.

And there You have it!!

[thevillagernie]

The Movies in TV does this with Quarters.

[JimJohnson]

Taking everything you can get from a customer is the American way. If your only being taken for a little change, ggggggeeeeeeezzzzzz. Let it go.

[MandoMan]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

Times are so hard in the restaurant industry that I’ve gone to tipping at least $10 or 25%, whichever is more, even if that means a 100% tip in some cases. I’m sure I have more than they do. I do think it would be appropriate to have a notice in the menu and on the receipt if the restaurant rounds up or down to the nearest dollar, but apart from that, it doesn’t bother me. I’d be happy to have them do that.

Why do we still have pennies, anyway? At least for pennies, and maybe for nickels and dimes, can’t we all agree to round up or down and do away with pennies?

[Jhnidy]

If you are tipping at 29%, the two percent back won't matter.

[SacDQ]

Did you every have almost the exact amount in your hand at a store register knowing you should be getting back let’s say seven CENTS.
The cashier looks at you like you had a third eye. They then try to figure out your correct change and fail. The very next step is to take out their phone and after several attempts come up with the correct amount that you came up with ten minutes ago.

So much for American education

Count your pennies and the dollars take care of them self’s.

[Miriam2940]

Well said. Happens to me and I don’t mind

[Ken D.]

I’m sure it minimizes Covid-19 exposure

[Robyn1963]

The server should round up in your favor. Servers have to carry their own "Bank" That means they bring change to give to cash customers. They are also responsible for the money owed to the restaurant. They carry all the money and credit card receipts from their tables and cash out at the end of their shift. Not carry coins is standard BUT they MUST either give you exact change or round up in your favor.

On a separate note, I had dinner last week and the bartender gave my friend another drink that was not requested. That is not acceptable...it wasn't a soda refill and she knew it was a vodka drink.

[noslices1]

Use a credit card, problem solved.

[jedalton]

Times are so hard in the restaurant industry that I’ve gone to tipping at least $10 or 25%, whichever is more, even if that means a 100% tip in some cases. I’m sure I have more than they do. I do think it would be appropriate to have a notice in the menu and on the receipt if the restaurant rounds up or down to the nearest dollar, but apart from that, it doesn’t bother me. I’d be happy to have them do that.

Why do we still have pennies, anyway? At least for pennies, and maybe for nickels and dimes, can’t we all agree to round up or down and do away with pennies?
we do the same.

[jbrown132]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!
That’s a simple fix, if they do not provide you the correct change or round up to the nearest dollar and you feel they did this purposely, don’t leave them a tip. If a few people do this they will get the message. If loosing a 20-25% tip is worth a little change so be it.

[Graspher]

What coin shortage?

I have four 5 gallon glass containers filled to the brim with coins...?

[Larchap49]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

This seems to be a growing trend, I've heard this about other places even one of the country clubs. If you know a place is doing this and you still want to pay with cash just subtract that amount from the tip.

[JSR22]

That’s a simple fix, if they do not provide you the correct change or round up to the nearest dollar and you feel they did this purposely, don’t leave them a tip. If a few people do this they will get the message. If loosing a 20-25% tip is worth a little change so be it.

Not tipping is inexusable. LOSING a tip is wrong.

[WesMan]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!
Really, I have a few pennies!!!!!!!!!!

[Mardarlowe]

Add it to the tip if you actually tip.

[Singerlady]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

A fair number of restaurants were doing this before the coin shortage. I find it annoying, that’s why I usually round the tip to the nearest dollar and do it on my cc.

[Tmarkwald]

This is no change shortage. None at all. Banks have TONS of change in storage. Businesses are not requesting change in the belief that it spreads Covid.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

So my takeaway from this thread is the general consensus: Being dishonest with/stealing someone else's money is perfectly acceptable as long as it's just a few pennies here, a few pennies there.

And that most people on this thread can afford to lose 50, 60, 75 cents every time they go anywhere, it's no big deal, their money has such little value to them they're perfectly happy to throw it away on a dishonest server.

So basically - dishonesty does not fall into the category of "immorality." There is no moral imperative to be honest.

Good to know that my fellow forum members are okay with that.

[Jpressley]

Change purse.

[Girlcopper]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

Almost every place you go now, there is a sign about the coin shortage. Why do you insist on paying in cash? Even with the virus occurring, stores are recomending no hand to hand money exchange. You also said this happened to you before. So, why continue using cash? Thats what credit cards are for. Much easier, faster and cleaner.

[Joe C.]

The "coin shortage" is a fabrication. It's a move that is supposed to drive us into "a cashless society".
Not giving the correct change in a business transaction is wrong. It's cheating, or stealing....whichever way you define it. It's inexcusable.
People who allow themselves to be shortchanged are sheeple.
Stand up for what's right.....no matter how "petty" it seems. Because if you let them take an inch, they'll eventually take a mile.
If something is mine, then it's MINE! Take it without permission, and you do so at your own peril.

[ProfessorDave]

What a bizarre little bubble we live in. With everything that has gone on in our country in the past four years - and the pandemic... people are unhappy of an amount on average 50 cents - and at worst - under a $1.00? And given the prices at the Chop House? And considering many of those waiters/waitresses went without any income early in the pandemic for months? REALLY Pathetic?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I haven't used cash in a restaurant in at least five years, or use cash anywhere. I'll get $200 out of the ATM and it will last a few months. Gas, restaurants, stores, I get one big credit card bill at the end of the month and I pay it online, it's so convenient I can't imagine fumbling with currency. You can write the tip on the bill, I always round it off. For example, if my restaurant bill is $23.20, I'll make the tip $6,80 so that it's a $30.00 charge on my account.

Plus by using a credit card, mine for example give 2% back, so if I have a $1500 monthly bill, I get $30 off. I guess I've been lucky, have not had anyone try and steal my card's info in the ten years I've lived here. The last time that happened was in North Carolina on my 2011 trip to Florida, we stayed in a North Carolina motel, a nice place. That week someone got a $1,000 cash advance at a North Carolina Walmart. I don't why or how they got away with that, but they did. I called the credit card company and it came off my bill and they gave me a new card.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'm surprised that anyone uses cash anymore for anything. In fact sometimes it drives me a bit bonkers. I was in Publix last week to pick up a few things and I'm in the 10 items or less line. I was in a bit of a hurry because I was supposed to meet someone. I'm next in line so I take out my credit card and get ready to pay and get out. The cashier rings up about eight items for the woman in front of me. The woman looks at the amount on the screen, looks at her items and looks back at the amount. The she asks the cashier if the amount is correct, which is was. Then and only then she pulls her wallet out of her purse and opens it up. (Did she think that it was going to be free?) Then she starts fumbling around with bills handing over several bills one at at time to the cashier. I'm starting to get a bit upset watching this whole thing because, as I said, I had to be somewhere. So now, she pulls out, yes, one of those little rubber coin purses and starts counting out change and handing coins to the cashier, one at a time. The cashier then hands her the receipt and she looks at it for a bit and then begins putting her change purse back in to her wallet, her wallet back into her purse and finally, her items into the shopping cart, all while standing in front the payment machine. I looked behind me and there were now six people in line waiting. She finally leaves and I looked at the cashier who just shook her head at me. I inserted my card into the payment machine while she scanned my four items. I removed it seconds later, she handed me my bagged groceries and receipt. My transaction took less than a minute.

Why do people use cash. I do carry a bit because occasionally, I run into a situation where I need it, but 99.999% of the time I use my credit card and get between 2% and 5% back on purchases. If the people who are counting out their change from a rubber purse thought about that, maybe the would use cards as well.


I understand the point of the customer deciding to leave the change as a tip or the restaurant just taking it, but I'm interested in knowing exactly how much money we're talking about that would cause someone to post a warning about it.

[JSR22]

What a bizarre little bubble we live in. With everything that has gone on in our country in the past four years - and the pandemic... people are unhappy of an amount on average 50 cents - and at worst - under a $1.00? And given the prices at the Chop House? And considering many of those waiters/waitresses went without any income early in the pandemic for months? REALLY Pathetic?

Totally agree. If i had to worry about 50 cents I would not be in a restaurant.

[Happinow]

The "coin shortage" is a fabrication. It's a move that is supposed to drive us into "a cashless society".
Not giving the correct change in a business transaction is wrong. It's cheating, or stealing....whichever way you define it. It's inexcusable.
People who allow themselves to be shortchanged are sheeple.
Stand up for what's right.....no matter how "petty" it seems. Because if you let them take an inch, they'll eventually take a mile.
If something is mine, then it's MINE! Take it without permission, and you do so at your own peril.

You are 100% correct! There is no coin shortage. It is all part of the “cashless society” plan so they can track everything you do and spend. I, for one, am not falling for it.

[Happinow]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'm surprised that anyone uses cash anymore for anything. In fact sometimes it drives me a bit bonkers. I was in Publix last week to pick up a few things and I'm in the 10 items or less line. I was in a bit of a hurry because I was supposed to meet someone. I'm next in line so I take out my credit card and get ready to pay and get out. The cashier rings up about eight items for the woman in front of me. The woman looks at the amount on the screen, looks at her items and looks back at the amount. The she asks the cashier if the amount is correct, which is was. Then and only then she pulls her wallet out of her purse and opens it up. (Did she think that it was going to be free?) Then she starts fumbling around with bills handing over several bills one at at time to the cashier. I'm starting to get a bit upset watching this whole thing because, as I said, I had to be somewhere. So now, she pulls out, yes, one of those little rubber coin purses and starts counting out change and handing coins to the cashier, one at a time. The cashier then hands her the receipt and she looks at it for a bit and then begins putting her change purse back in to her wallet, her wallet back into her purse and finally, her items into the shopping cart, all while standing in front the payment machine. I looked behind me and there were now six people in line waiting. She finally leaves and I looked at the cashier who just shook her head at me. I inserted my card into the payment machine while she scanned my four items. I removed it seconds later, she handed me my bagged groceries and receipt. My transaction took less than a minute.

Why do people use cash. I do carry a bit because occasionally, I run into a situation where I need it, but 99.999% of the time I use my credit card and get between 2% and 5% back on purchases. If the people who are counting out their change from a rubber purse thought about that, maybe the would use cards as well.


I understand the point of the customer deciding to leave the change as a tip or the restaurant just taking it, but I'm interested in knowing exactly how much money we're talking about that would cause someone to post a warning about it.

You too have missed the point. It’s not about the money, it’s about the fact that they took what wasn’t theirs. It’s not theirs until I give it to them. If every week, your bank account dwindled little by little, and you didn’t give permission for the money to be taken out, wouldn’t it be stealing? Would you do something about your bank account going down and you didn’t authorize a withdrawal? Eventually, that 25, 50 or 75 cents would all add up. Instead of paying you interest, they deduct money. I’ll bet you would be on the phone with the bank pretty quickly.

[Happinow]

Use a credit card, problem solved.

Some of us choose not to follow the sheep.

[Happinow]

CREDIT CARD. No issue.

We choose not to use our card in a restaurant.

[DAVES]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

It is theft. Today people seem to be afraid to make a scene etc. so it continues.

Change shortage? How do you spell baloney?

[Bogie Shooter]

You are 100% correct! There is no coin shortage. It is all part of the “cashless society” plan so they can track everything you do and spend. I, for one, am not falling for it.

There is that “they” again.......who is they?

[ChicagoNative]

We put everything we can on plastic and use cash for tips. No problems, and every server I’ve ever known prefers the cash over having it left on the card. We also play the rewards game with the bank and are able to amass a chunk of points to use however we wish.

To those who think “50 cents” doesn’t make a difference, haven’t you ever heard of the doubling a penny thing?

My husband used to own and run independent gas stations and even one single penny a gallon difference would add up to hundreds of dollars a day in pure profit. As they say, do the math.

And it is NOT the restaurant’s place to decide to keep any change I have coming, no matter how small.

[retiredguy123]

Two points. I use a credit card for everything except restaurants where they require that your credit card by taken into the back room. I think the banks should require merchants to provide a portable credit card swipe machine at the table. Then, the transactions would be more secure and I wouldn't need to use cash anywhere.

Second, I think shortchanging would be okay, if the customer is notified in advance. If not, it is stealing. So, how much should they be allowed to steal from you before you would complain?

[jbrown132]

Not tipping is inexusable. LOSING a tip is wrong.

So isn’t stealing.

[DAVES]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'm surprised that anyone uses cash anymore for anything. In fact sometimes it drives me a bit bonkers. I was in Publix last week to pick up a few things and I'm in the 10 items or less line. I was in a bit of a hurry because I was supposed to meet someone. I'm next in line so I take out my credit card and get ready to pay and get out. The cashier rings up about eight items for the woman in front of me. The woman looks at the amount on the screen, looks at her items and looks back at the amount. The she asks the cashier if the amount is correct, which is was. Then and only then she pulls her wallet out of her purse and opens it up. (Did she think that it was going to be free?) Then she starts fumbling around with bills handing over several bills one at at time to the cashier. I'm starting to get a bit upset watching this whole thing because, as I said, I had to be somewhere. So now, she pulls out, yes, one of those little rubber coin purses and starts counting out change and handing coins to the cashier, one at a time. The cashier then hands her the receipt and she looks at it for a bit and then begins putting her change purse back in to her wallet, her wallet back into her purse and finally, her items into the shopping cart, all while standing in front the payment machine. I looked behind me and there were now six people in line waiting. She finally leaves and I looked at the cashier who just shook her head at me. I inserted my card into the payment machine while she scanned my four items. I removed it seconds later, she handed me my bagged groceries and receipt. My transaction took less than a minute.

Why do people use cash. I do carry a bit because occasionally, I run into a situation where I need it, but 99.999% of the time I use my credit card and get between 2% and 5% back on purchases. If the people who are counting out their change from a rubber purse thought about that, maybe the would use cards as well.


I understand the point of the customer deciding to leave the change as a tip or the restaurant just taking it, but I'm interested in knowing exactly how much money we're talking about that would cause someone to post a warning about it.

Reality. As far a credit cards and 2% backs. Where do you think that money comes from. The retailer pays it and so adds it into the price so the consumer pays it.

The government is happy with credit cards. A friend who had a retail store when, I stated it is q cash business informed me that today their is little cash business.
Depending on their size a retailer can get hit with a fee on every transaction plus 1-2% of the gross sale. That is on the total sale not just the profit. If, the profit is a typical 20-30% gross, a credit card takes a huge bit out of the profit as the fees are on the total amount.

[Aces4]

There is that “they” again.......who is they?

I can help with that for the people who haven’t a clue... everything you use your cc for is totally tracked by the cc companies along with the vendors who contract with the cc companies for payments plus the companies that pay for your information plus a host of other snoops. If one thinks their phone contents, smart tvs and camara security cameras are private too, think again.

[Aces4]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'm surprised that anyone uses cash anymore for anything. In fact sometimes it drives me a bit bonkers. I was in Publix last week to pick up a few things and I'm in the 10 items or less line. I was in a bit of a hurry because I was supposed to meet someone. I'm next in line so I take out my credit card and get ready to pay and get out. The cashier rings up about eight items for the woman in front of me. The woman looks at the amount on the screen, looks at her items and looks back at the amount. The she asks the cashier if the amount is correct, which is was. Then and only then she pulls her wallet out of her purse and opens it up. (Did she think that it was going to be free?) Then she starts fumbling around with bills handing over several bills one at at time to the cashier. I'm starting to get a bit upset watching this whole thing because, as I said, I had to be somewhere. So now, she pulls out, yes, one of those little rubber coin purses and starts counting out change and handing coins to the cashier, one at a time. The cashier then hands her the receipt and she looks at it for a bit and then begins putting her change purse back in to her wallet, her wallet back into her purse and finally, her items into the shopping cart, all while standing in front the payment machine. I looked behind me and there were now six people in line waiting. She finally leaves and I looked at the cashier who just shook her head at me. I inserted my card into the payment machine while she scanned my four items. I removed it seconds later, she handed me my bagged groceries and receipt. My transaction took less than a minute.

Why do people use cash. I do carry a bit because occasionally, I run into a situation where I need it, but 99.999% of the time I use my credit card and get between 2% and 5% back on purchases. If the people who are counting out their change from a rubber purse thought about that, maybe the would use cards as well.


I understand the point of the customer deciding to leave the change as a tip or the restaurant just taking it, but I'm interested in knowing exactly how much money we're talking about that would cause someone to post a warning about it.


I wonder when it became other people’s problem when some people start late and don’t plan properly. How people handle their money and pay their bills was still an American privilege last I heard. To insist everyone run around with a cc is ludicrous, some don’t even qualify for cc’s. Six people in a line at Publix isn’t unusual during peak times. Plan accordingly.

I agree with the OP, the change grab is wrong. I would no longer patronize those businesses operating that way. Everything now is soooo much work for everyone to handle. It all goes along with the dumbing of America.

[retiredguy123]

Reality. As far a credit cards and 2% backs. Where do you think that money comes from. The retailer pays it and so adds it into the price so the consumer pays it.

The government is happy with credit cards. A friend who had a retail store when, I stated it is q cash business informed me that today their is little cash business.
Depending on their size a retailer can get hit with a fee on every transaction plus 1-2% of the gross sale. That is on the total sale not just the profit. If, the profit is a typical 20-30% gross, a credit card takes a huge bit out of the profit as the fees are on the total amount.
Yes, the Government is happy with credit cards, but so are the merchants. Without credit cards, they would go out of business. The only people who are not happy with credit cards are muggers.

[oneclickplus]

You’ve missed the point.....of course I would add it to the tip, and I did, however that has to be MY choice, not theirs. Other people don’t get to decide what I do with MY money, no matter how small the change was.

They have learned from the government that your money is not yours.

[Marine1974]

I dont think you should belittle someone for questioning why
they didn’t get the proper amount back and not having a choice in what tip they want to leave to their server . We can only assume you must be a server and
steal from your customers too .

[Sherry8bal]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!


I agree with you. I would never repeat a visit to any place of business that did this to me. There is no reason for a REAL business manager not to have enough change to run their daily business. This sounds like another excuse to not have to bother. I would never go back to Metro Diner or Chop House. Please report any other businesses that are doing this too.

[Sherry8bal]

The "coin shortage" is a fabrication. It's a move that is supposed to drive us into "a cashless society".
Not giving the correct change in a business transaction is wrong. It's cheating, or stealing....whichever way you define it. It's inexcusable.
People who allow themselves to be shortchanged are sheeple.
Stand up for what's right.....no matter how "petty" it seems. Because if you let them take an inch, they'll eventually take a mile.
If something is mine, then it's MINE! Take it without permission, and you do so at your own peril.

TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!! It's another reason to get rid of cash.

[Cheryl Barrios]

I understand where you are coming from completely. I have trained wait staff in the past. There are several things regarding payment due in that training including:
1. NEVER ask a patron if they want their change back when paid with cash
2. ALWAYS give a patron back all of their change
3. NEVER PAD a check - ie - don't add extra drinks, don't charge for a premier drink, don't add extras (especially easy to do in big parties)
4. ALWAYS make sure the patron gets what they ordered - ie - don't forget to bring an appetizer but still charge for it

There were more.

Now why did I go through such specific training? Here are some reasons:
1. We want the patron to return
2. The wait staffs' behavior reflects on the restaurant
3. This may be the patrons monthly (or whatever) dinner out and they scrunch their pennies to be able to do so - (wait staff are not the only people who struggle with money COVID or not)
4. Doing any of the above not only affects the reputation of the server but of the restaurant AND as a result, the server will probably receive a smaller TIP (if any) and the restaurant a bad review.

There were more here too.

One thing I learned from a very wise man many years ago was this -
Live frugally...If you see change on the ground, pick it up and save it; Anytime you get change back, save it; It will accumulate quickly. You will be then always be able to give back because there will always be money for you at home.

Condoning the behavior of wait staff by either including the cents/dollars not returned by just taking it out of the tip you would have left or just adding it to the tip you were going to leave is not the right thing to do. Of course, you can do it if you want, that's fine. It is your choice or right to do so. BUT it is not the right of the wait staff to not give you your change back no matter how small. When people quit allowing others to do what they want, especially when in principle it is wrong, they will quit. I will guarantee you, at the end of the night, when the wait staff is checking out with the restaurant and paying their checks, if the total came to $XXXX.67, they are NOT going to round it up to $XXXX + $1, they will pay $XXXX.67. They will take from others, but not give it up when it comes to paying the restaurant. My sister still works as part of a wait staff. She brings home over $500 a night during the week and $800 to $1,000 a night on Fridays and Saturdays. She returns every bit of change to her customers, never cheats them, even a penny. She gets requests from patrons because they've been cheated by others. It certainly has paid off for her.



So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!

[Bogie Shooter]

I dont think you should belittle someone for questioning why
they didn’t get the proper amount back and not having a choice in what tip they want to leave to their server . We can only assume you must be a server and
steal from your customers too .

Who?

[ChicagoNative]

I understand where you are coming from completely. I have trained wait staff in the past. There are several things regarding payment due in that training including:
1. NEVER ask a patron if they want their change back when paid with cash
2. ALWAYS give a patron back all of their change
3. NEVER PAD a check - ie - don't add extra drinks, don't charge for a premier drink, don't add extras (especially easy to do in big parties)
4. ALWAYS make sure the patron gets what they ordered - ie - don't forget to bring an appetizer but still charge for it

There were more.

Now why did I go through such specific training? Here are some reasons:
1. We want the patron to return
2. The wait staffs' behavior reflects on the restaurant
3. This may be the patrons monthly (or whatever) dinner out and they scrunch their pennies to be able to do so - (wait staff are not the only people who struggle with money COVID or not)
4. Doing any of the above not only affects the reputation of the server but of the restaurant AND as a result, the server will probably receive a smaller TIP (if any) and the restaurant a bad review.

There were more here too.

One thing I learned from a very wise man many years ago was this -
Live frugally...If you see change on the ground, pick it up and save it; Anytime you get change back, save it; It will accumulate quickly. You will be then always be able to give back because there will always be money for you at home.

Condoning the behavior of wait staff by either including the cents/dollars not returned by just taking it out of the tip you would have left or just adding it to the tip you were going to leave is not the right thing to do. Of course, you can do it if you want, that's fine. It is your choice or right to do so. BUT it is not the right of the wait staff to not give you your change back no matter how small. When people quit allowing others to do what they want, especially when in principle it is wrong, they will quit. I will guarantee you, at the end of the night, when the wait staff is checking out with the restaurant and paying their checks, if the total came to $XXXX.67, they are NOT going to round it up to $XXXX + $1, they will pay $XXXX.67. They will take from others, but not give it up when it comes to paying the restaurant. My sister still works as part of a wait staff. She brings home over $500 a night during the week and $800 to $1,000 a night on Fridays and Saturdays. She returns every bit of change to her customers, never cheats them, even a penny. She gets requests from patrons because they've been cheated by others. It certainly has paid off for her.


Brava!👏👏👏👏👏

[swooner]

So hubby and I went to dinner at Metro Dinner Sunday evening. When it was time to pay our bill, we noticed that we only got dollars back and no change that was due to us. We counted our dollars thinking that the server had rounded up the change to give us only dollars back. This was not the case.

We called the manager over and told him that we did not get the proper change back. He asked who our server was and we pointed him out. We also asked the manager if they give change back. He kinda fumbled with his words and eventually said well we usually round up the dollar amount in the customers favor because we don’t have a way to make change here due to the “change shortage”. Our servers bring their own money from home to make change with. We told him that in our case our server did not round up the dollar amount. He went to our server who gave him the dollar to give to us.

This struck me as odd because a week ago, I was having lunch at Chop House with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 20 years. When she received her check she also did not receive the correct change. She did not receive her change, nor did they round up her amount t that they returned to her. They just kept the change......no explanation given. I told my friend to call our server back over and question why she did not receive her proper change. She refused.

My question is....with the “change shortage 🤣🤣) are the servers just keeping the change?? For me, this is unacceptable and is no different than stealing it. It’s my money and I’ll decide if I want them to keep the change.

You may want to count your change before you leave a restaurant. They are pulling a fast one on us!
If you have to be that concerned about a few coins you should probably eat at home.

[npwalters]

You’ve missed the point.....of course I would add it to the tip, and I did, however that has to be MY choice, not theirs. Other people don’t get to decide what I do with MY money, no matter how small the change was.

me too

[jimlambert]

I cringe when I see people paying with cash. Pandemic aside, the points you can accumulate from credit card sign up bonuses and using them for normal spending can pay for fantastic trips! My wife and I have been on three European vacations to Italy, France/England and a cruise out of New Amsterdam. The points paid for nearly all of the airfare and all of the hotels. And we stayed in top notch hotels too. I paid for a Mediterranean cruise and a Baltic cruise. Other than paying for meals and trinkets the rest was free! Go to millionmilesecrets.com to start learning how.

[juddfl]

If you use a credit card instead of cash, be sure to reconcile your monthly credit card bill to your receipts. I've had the wait staff change my tip. A few years back at a restaurant I ordered a $12 salad and added a $3 tip for a total of $15. When I got my monthly statement, it was charged $18 instead of $15. That is a 50% tip. I went back to the restaurant and spoke to the manager and told him that maybe she hit the 8 key instead of the 5. He told me that this has been done before. When he left, a senior women that seats people told me that this will be the 5th person fired for doing this in the 2 1/2 years that she has worked there. She said, it is not the stealing that bothers her as much as what they say in the back kitchen. She overheard them say that the seniors that live here are too stupid or naive to compare their receipts with their monthly bills. They laugh and then show the others how to do it. I've caught a few wrong amounts on my bill and it is not just restaurants. Be careful !

[retiredguy123]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'm surprised that anyone uses cash anymore for anything. In fact sometimes it drives me a bit bonkers. I was in Publix last week to pick up a few things and I'm in the 10 items or less line. I was in a bit of a hurry because I was supposed to meet someone. I'm next in line so I take out my credit card and get ready to pay and get out. The cashier rings up about eight items for the woman in front of me. The woman looks at the amount on the screen, looks at her items and looks back at the amount. The she asks the cashier if the amount is correct, which is was. Then and only then she pulls her wallet out of her purse and opens it up. (Did she think that it was going to be free?) Then she starts fumbling around with bills handing over several bills one at at time to the cashier. I'm starting to get a bit upset watching this whole thing because, as I said, I had to be somewhere. So now, she pulls out, yes, one of those little rubber coin purses and starts counting out change and handing coins to the cashier, one at a time. The cashier then hands her the receipt and she looks at it for a bit and then begins putting her change purse back in to her wallet, her wallet back into her purse and finally, her items into the shopping cart, all while standing in front the payment machine. I looked behind me and there were now six people in line waiting. She finally leaves and I looked at the cashier who just shook her head at me. I inserted my card into the payment machine while she scanned my four items. I removed it seconds later, she handed me my bagged groceries and receipt. My transaction took less than a minute.

Why do people use cash. I do carry a bit because occasionally, I run into a situation where I need it, but 99.999% of the time I use my credit card and get between 2% and 5% back on purchases. If the people who are counting out their change from a rubber purse thought about that, maybe the would use cards as well.


I understand the point of the customer deciding to leave the change as a tip or the restaurant just taking it, but I'm interested in knowing exactly how much money we're talking about that would cause someone to post a warning about it.
That same lady is always in front of me in line. I'm glad that she is also picking on someone else. To answer your question about how much money we are talking about, I do about 70 transactions per month, mostly credit card. But, if every one were rounded up to the next dollar, it would average about 50 cents each, or about $35 per month, which I think is substantial enough for the OP to complain about.

[Carol - D.]

I've been overcharged many times - not just restaurants. Walmart, Aldis, etc. Gotta watch everyone.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I cringe when I see people paying with cash. Pandemic aside, the points you can accumulate from credit card sign up bonuses and using them for normal spending can pay for fantastic trips! My wife and I have been on three European vacations to Italy, France/England and a cruise out of New Amsterdam. The points paid for nearly all of the airfare and all of the hotels. And we stayed in top notch hotels too. I paid for a Mediterranean cruise and a Baltic cruise. Other than paying for meals and trinkets the rest was free! Go to millionmilesecrets.com to start learning how.

I'd actually prefer to pay with a credit card. However, we (my husband and I collectively as a household) prefer to NOT buy things on credit. Buying on credit means we owe money at the end of the month. We try to keep our bills low. That means for most daily/weekly expenses, I pay cash.

[Aces4]

If you have to be that concerned about a few coins you should probably eat at home.


If you don’t care that people are stealing from you it would be wise for you to eat at home too.

[JSR22]

If you don’t care that people are stealing from you it would be wise for you to eat at home too.

I eat out at least 4 to 5 times a week and have been living her close to 9 years. Once my bill was rounded but iwas to my favor. Honestly, if I was shorted a few coins I don't care. If 50 cents was that important I would be eating at home.

[Aces4]

I eat out at least 4 to 5 times a week and have been living her close to 9 years. Once my bill was rounded but iwas to my favor. Honestly, if I was shorted a few coins I don't care. If 50 cents was that important I would be eating at home.


Happy to hear others taking your money works for you. Most people don’t like other’s hands in their pockets helping themselves. Those people prefer choice to whom they will donate.

[jimkerr]

I always pay with a credit card. It saves me the hassle of getting angry if a server wasn’t going to give me my change back.

As a business owner I’d ever dream of taking a tip that wasn’t given to me.

[joelfmi]

You’ve missed the point.....of course I would add it to the tip, and I did, however that has to be MY choice, not theirs. Other people don’t get to decide what I do with MY money, no matter how small the change was.
You are absolutely wright. The customer has to make the decision to give the waitress the money due you if he wants only

[lwmilo]

Absolutely correct