Suggested Gratuities error on restaurant bill
 

Same thing happened to me at The Olive Garden.

And while you're doing the math, the 20% should be on the pre-tax total! Not the final bill.

Or, you could be nice and tip on the entire bill, not just pre-tax. And don’t forget that if you use a coupon or some other form of discount, the tip should be based on the whole price, not the discounted price. Don’t punish the servers because you got a deal. They give you the same service regardless.

Yes. Also remember that the same effort is needed to bring you a glass of water as it is to bring an expensive cocktail.

Totally agree. The additional tip on the tax is chump change, most likely less than a buck on most checks.....and I do know some that tip on the net check after the discount coupon...and have called them on it.

Please tell us which “new” restaurant ‘suggested’ those tips. I want to avoid that place for sure.

It also takes just as much effort to bring me a cheese sandwich as a filet mignon. Should I take that into account?

At best it is deceitful!

I agree. A tip is a voluntary gift and no business should ask for tips, or suggest an amount.

The Business isn't asking for a tip. It's the suggested amount for the server who gets paid squat to start with. IF your Server or Bar Tender takes care of you especially if you go to the same places often you will be remembered and taken care of a little better. Trust me on that!

Glad to see reminders to tip on the full amount, not the 2 for 1 or discounted coupon amount.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

I barely even look at those things. I can figure out 15% if the service was not very good and 20% if it was good and 25% if it was great in my head.

For as long as I could remember, the tip for good service was 15%. Somehow in the past 25 years or so it became 20%. I often wonder when and how that happened.

No, and it's not even close.

WE live in The Villages --who by the way are know as notorious bad tippers. Most servers work hard and do not make a lot of money . if you notice, most of the servers here are not retirees like the majority of their client (us) They are youngsters raising families. As for myself I never look at the restaurants suggestions for tips. I just multiply the ENTIRE bill by 20%. The prices here in TV are never so high that 1 or 2 bucks will kill you ..Is it ? The only thing I ever take into account is the servers attitude and attentiveness and that is just a rounding concern a tip of 8.50 becomes 9 or 8 ..Makes it easier for me since I am not a math person . (Thats why I married a College Calculus professor LOL)

When I first got here I was annoyed that bartenders never buy back a drink ...until I realized I was paying 2.50 for a beer I was paying better than 5.00 back up north.

I realize everything in life is about our experiences from th past and our expectations.

My only thought is treat people with respect and it will return to you in spades.

Would you rater spend you life :beer3::pepper2:

or :swear::grumpy:

New Scam
 

This is obviously intentional and we need to know who is doing this. As long as you are factual, you should name the place, so we can ALL watch for this crookedness. I'll bet the servers know it is incorrect (and in their favor).

Try writing on the check: "My calculation is that 20% tip = $1.43 ".

That'll get the servers to force the management to correct it.

Skip

You're right and I've seen 18%, 20%, 25% as suggested tips on the slip. It's called pushing the envelope.

Skip

I always cash tip at the table, never on the card at the checkout. Never trusted management to give it all to the staff

Considering that a filet is at least twice the price of a cheese sandwich, the tip difference is already factored in. However, if you really think the same effort is used for these two items suggest you become a server for a week. A cheese sandwich requires picking it up and bringing it to the table. A filet requires bread, salad, possible sides on separate plates, and sour cream, etc. added to baked potato.

Glad you aren’t my daughter’s customer (she gave up on Villagers and now works in Ocala).

I think your daughter would be very happy to have me as a customer. I don't know why you think she wouldn't.

Since my point was missed, I'll restate - I have been a server, and still don't understand why a tip should be more for a filet than it is for something similar that costs half as much.

WE live in The Villages --who by the way are known as notorious bad tippers.

How is this exactly known? Has there been a study on this? I have lots and lot of friends here, none of us are bad tippers.

Talk to the servers. Too many here still think 10% is a good tip. I actually heard one woman tell her friend to not leave a tip because “tips were part of the amenity fees.”

I talk to the servers every time I go to a restaurant. Kinda hard to order without talking to them. This whole "villagers are bad tippers" seems like an urban myth. Never see it, never hear of it until someone starts a rumor on the internet.

If some 90 year old lady living off her social security can only muster up 10% tip on her one night out per month so be it, the occasional 30% tip balances it out.

I promise to tip 20% on my next glass of water. :loco:

Doing the right thing
 

OP, Others might disagree but I think you did the right thing by giving this restaurant the benefit of doubt. It could be a computer program error. It’s hard to believe that a manager wouldn’t be smart enough to know that a customer wouldn’t do the math and be upset with the situation. Thanks, and keep us posted.

It’s a clearly greed.
The bottom of the bill it to guilt you.
And we all know who gets a kick back from TV greed.
Don’t ever pay a dime.

It’s on the internet/ Facebook.
STD’s Swingers, Mr Midnight, :a20:

A 90 year old lady who gets a social security check and only goes out once a month has got to be loaded. What is she doing with all her money?

Yeah, we don't want those servers making a lot of money. They make sooo much an hour. What $3.00 and they hardly have to put up with the Bull.... from a lot of senior residents. Good excuse for being CHEAP. I also like the excuse "We don't tip in our country" - but your not in your country and a service charge is added on to your bill. Just saying.However, if you get lousy service, then you get a lousy tip.

She's probably spending her money on buying hop-up parts...to modify her golf cart to run 35 mph.

And removing the turn signal stalk.



:D

Tips are just a way for the greedy restaurants to get you to pay there wages.
McDonald’s does to ask for tips, and they are paying over minimum wage per CNN.

*********************
All employees up to restaurant managers will get a pay bump as well. The result: the fast food giant projects that its average hourly wage will reach more than $10 an hour by the end of 2016 -- up from $9.01 currently. The new average will be $2.75 above the federal minimum wage.Apr 1, 2015
McDonalds to give a pay raise to hourly workers - Apr. 1, 2015 - ...

These are not errors. The restaurants are professionals and the calculations are deliberate. I see this as more of an issue of integrity than how much you should be tipping in the first place. Remember, a waitress does not make much, is usually part time and has a hard time making ends meet. If you want some interesting reading on the "error" process try an old book "Pulling Your Own Strings"

A quick google search will show that this has been observed by others around the country. While I am not familiar with the programming of Point of Sale systems, it is not hard to imagine that the restaurants have control over the calculations. I have experienced this sort of thing in the past. At one establishment (not around here) which included a mandatory 18% tip, I noticed the included tip was 30%, not 18%. This was quickly corrected but certainly suggests that the restaurants do have control of these sorts of calculations.

In Florida, there would be an advantage to "inflating" the suggested tip amount as the restaurants must pay additional money to the service staff if their hourly wage plus tips doesn't equal the minimum wage.

Here's a better example: caculate the gratituity on the service.

Opening and pouring a bottle of 1982 Petrus at $5,000 with two wine glasses.
Opening and pouring a bottle of last weeks Sutter Home White Zinfandel at $22.00 with two wine glasses.

Apparently it is ok for some individuals in this thread to suggest amounts. :loco:

:BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause:

[QUOTE=bilcon;1500422]Yeah, we don't want those servers making a lot of money. They make sooo much an hour. What $3.00 and they hardly have to put up with the Bull.... from a lot of senior residents.

I believe the tipped minimum wage in Florida is something over $5 an hour. Other places it's a little over $2. Does that mean we should tip more in Georgia, or less here?
The entire idea of basing your tip on the cost of the meal is irrational. Maybe it should be based on how long you stay in the restaurant. Or how many times the server visits your table.
And of course you should probably ask the server what their hourly wage is so that you can take that into account. What if the place is really busy and the manager waits on you? They probably make way more than a server - should you even leave a tip?

To the OP, if the restaurant is a chain restaurant--the #'s IMHO were engineered by corp mgt, please disclose the name of the establishment, your polite waiting for things to change will not change a thing- its a new way to scam customers

I went to Evans Prairie tonight with a singles group for happy hour/dinner. The restaurant had agreed to provide separate checks for the 40 attendees. However, when the checks arrived, they had included a 20 percent gratuity to each check amount. In my opinion, this is worse than just suggesting a gratuity amount. I hope that customers will not accept this kind of practice. A gratuity should be a voluntary gift and totally up to the customer to give or not to give. If the gratuity is mandatory, what incentive does the server have to provide good service?

It's not an uncommon practice for restaurants to add a gratuity on the bills for a large group. And I really don't blame them. It's a lot of work to serve a large group all at once, not only for the servers, but the chefs.

:agree:


In fact, a lot of menus will state that there will be an 18%-20% gratuity added for groups of (usually 6, but varies)...or more.


Totally understandable to me, but I don't recall it happening after getting lunch with my golf groups that are sometimes up to 20...so go figure. :shrug: