[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Exactly. But, I think a lot of people don't realize that they have already charged your card before you sign the receipt. So, even if you don't sign it, they will still charge the card. The two issues I have are that they take your card into another room, and that they make manual adjustments to the transaction after you have left. I will use the machines at the table, where I can complete the transaction, including the tip, entirely electronically.

Until recently, the machine was quite a bit too large to bring to the table.

I wonder how many people have had cards compromised at restaurants. I've read articles about it happening but very few articles compared with the thousands of restaurants doing business. I wear my card out with all the use it gets yet only once have I had to dispute charges and have the card replaced. I was unable to learn whether the number had been stolen at a business or if the credit card company had been hacked. Maybe I'm just lucky

[lindaelane]

I think it is fine. Also, about half the time, I simply get up and go to the register because the wait person has not been by. Standard is for wait staff to check once, usually soon after the meal is delivered. If I somehow fail to ask for the check then - and have my card out to give the person immediately when they bring it - I know I will probably go to the register to check out.

Also, a lot of restaurants have a policy to pay at the register. The number like that is increasing as it is so hard to find help and wait staff must take care of more tables.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by lindaelane

I think it is fine. Also, about half the time, I simply get up and go to the register because the wait person has not been by. Standard is for wait staff to check once, usually soon after the meal is delivered. If I somehow fail to ask for the check then - and have my card out to give the person immediately when they bring it - I know I will probably go to the register to check out.

Also, a lot of restaurants have a policy to pay at the register. The number like that is increasing as it is so hard to find help and wait staff must take care of more tables.

I don't think that most restaurants have a register where you can check out.

[nn0wheremann]

Originally Posted by rhood

When I am finished with my meal at a restaurant, I like to pay and leave. Problem many times is that the wait person can’t be found.
I have started to ask for the check when food is delivered so I can offer my card the next time the wait person passes even before I have finished. Then, when it’s delivered, I can just sign the chit and leave when I’m ready.
I’m usually not in a hurry, but I just don’t want to sit there and wait.
Is that so wrong ?

Do not leave cash on the table to pay your bill at Francesco’s. Three people at one of our tables did that, one of the staff stole their $85, and the management stiffed the rest of the group to make it good.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Naturally, waiters don’t want to bring you the check until they’ve tried to talk you into buying dessert, coffee, or that special cocktail called the DUI. But I’ve never had a waiter refuse or hesitate when I’ve asked for the check when the meal is delivered. I often put my credit card near the edge of the table when I’m ready to pay, and waiters are usually quick to notice that and bring the check. But no, it’s not rude to ask for it early. Better to have you leave quickly, with a good tip, so there is a chance of a second seating, than to have you sit around and chat for another half hour and leave the same tip and leave too late for another seating. Some restaurants are very fast with bringing the checks, and some are slow. Time of day also matters, but in some restaurants, during slow periods waiters are standing around chatting with other waiters instead of paying attention. Then there are the ones who spend five minutes chatting about themselves. Sunday night I tried O’Grady’s, and the waitress devoted five minutes to telling us it was her birthday, and she’d gotten a $25 tip and was hoping for another. Oh, and how the food was authentic Scottish fare cooked in the traditional way. (It’s not.)

As I fancy myself as something of a gourmet when it comes to ethnic eats, I have to confess I've never been particularly attractive to traditional Scottish food. That is NOT to say that it isn't good, or that some people go out of their way to find a restaurant serving it--but, for example, the traditional Scottish dish haggis; a sheep's stomach stuffed with the rest of the sheep innards mixed with rice and then boiled, does not strike me as overwhelmingly attractive, though in truth it does sound like a pretty good survival food (which is probably the origin of haggis in the first place). On the other hand, haggis served with the traditional DRINK of Scotland (i.e. Scotch whisky) does make the entire package more attractive.

[Regorp]

Originally Posted by rhood

When I am finished with my meal at a restaurant, I like to pay and leave. Problem many times is that the wait person can’t be found.
I have started to ask for the check when food is delivered so I can offer my card the next time the wait person passes even before I have finished. Then, when it’s delivered, I can just sign the chit and leave when I’m ready.
I’m usually not in a hurry, but I just don’t want to sit there and wait.
Is that so wrong ?

Remember that many restaurants are understaffed, so be patient as they do want the payment and don't cheap out on the tip.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by rhood

When I am finished with my meal at a restaurant, I like to pay and leave. Problem many times is that the wait person can’t be found.
I have started to ask for the check when food is delivered so I can offer my card the next time the wait person passes even before I have finished. Then, when it’s delivered, I can just sign the chit and leave when I’m ready.
I’m usually not in a hurry, but I just don’t want to sit there and wait.
Is that so wrong ?

Yea, I hear you , especially if the waitresses are busy or the restaurant is short on help. Most restaurants we eat at have the little pay computers at the table where you can pay & leave whenever you want. Sometimes I ask another waitress to get our waitress & that usually works!

[donfey]

Originally Posted by rhood

When I am finished with my meal at a restaurant, I like to pay and leave. Problem many times is that the wait person can’t be found.
I have started to ask for the check when food is delivered so I can offer my card the next time the wait person passes even before I have finished. Then, when it’s delivered, I can just sign the chit and leave when I’m ready.
I’m usually not in a hurry, but I just don’t want to sit there and wait.
Is that so wrong ?

Absolutely not. And, if the waiter/waitress asks, tell 'em why you're doing it. It often results in more visits from them.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Or you could just remember to bring cash, and figure out the tax and tip and round up to the nearest dollar. No waiting for a check necessary, just set it on the table sticking out from under your plate. Or hand it to the server on your way out and tell them "no change."

that's exactly what i do if i'm in a hurry, --come prepared with cash.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by nn0wheremann

Do not leave cash on the table to pay your bill at Francesco’s. Three people at one of our tables did that, one of the staff stole their $85, and the management stiffed the rest of the group to make it good.

oh no, how terrible! rest assured karma is a B, they'll get theirs in 1 way or another

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Exactly. But, I think a lot of people don't realize that they have already charged your card before you sign the receipt. So, even if you don't sign it, they will still charge the card. The two issues I have are that they take your card into another room, and that they make manual adjustments to the transaction after you have left. I will use the machines at the table, where I can complete the transaction, including the tip, entirely electronically.

Welcome to what's been going on forever... You really think people don't know this?

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

As I fancy myself as something of a gourmet when it comes to ethnic eats, I have to confess I've never been particularly attractive to traditional Scottish food. That is NOT to say that it isn't good, or that some people go out of their way to find a restaurant serving it--but, for example, the traditional Scottish dish haggis; a sheep's stomach stuffed with the rest of the sheep innards mixed with rice and then boiled, does not strike me as overwhelmingly attractive, though in truth it does sound like a pretty good survival food (which is probably the origin of haggis in the first place). On the other hand, haggis served with the traditional DRINK of Scotland (i.e. Scotch whisky) does make the entire package more attractive.

That's because you have to be drunk to eat that!

[Chi-Town]

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed

AND…..the owner knows that there may be an opportunity to sell another drink or two or a dessert if the tab stays open.

And I think the server gets some sort of compensation if the diner adds a dessert or dessert drink. Anyhow, the check at the end works for me.

[mtdjed]

Originally Posted by jabacon6669

Maybe Olive Garden is your answer. They have small credit card payment machines at every table. Pay and leave when you're ready. Nice feature. I think Texas Roadhouse also has them.

The first thing I do when I see those machines at the table is to ask the waiter/waitress to remove them from my table. Many have game options used by children for entertainment while they wait. My first introduction was seeing a runny nosed tot smearing the screen and then watching the wait staff cleaning process after the group was gone. Screen never cleaned. Contact with headquarters said that staff is trained to sanitize after each setting. Observations show that doesn't work. I know that everything I touch could be just as dirty, but that image just does not fade.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

The first thing I do when I see those machines at the table is to ask the waiter/waitress to remove them from my table. Many have game options used by children for entertainment while they wait. My first introduction was seeing a runny nosed tot smearing the screen and then watching the wait staff cleaning process after the group was gone. Screen never cleaned. Contact with headquarters said that staff is trained to sanitize after each setting. Observations show that doesn't work. I know that everything I touch could be just as dirty, but that image just does not fade.

As a kid, I worked at a restaurant a long time ago but you do not want to know what goes on.