<p>A friend of mine is a bartender. I told him that when I was going through my receipts I found that two restaurants had NOT added in the tip at all. He said that they tally up the credit card receipts after the bar or restaurant is closed, it typically takes at least an hour, and it is easy to make mistakes. The simplest thing is to leave a cash tip even if you are paying by credit card. </p>
<p>Of course, it may be some unscrupulous person looking to pad their income little by little. </p>
<p>Definitely take your copy of the CC receipt to that restaurant and show them that you were charged an additional $2 tip. Unless they have a policy about tips (usually this is for tables with a certain number of patrons, or a bill over a certain amount) there should not be any additional amount from what you wrote.</p>
<p>I do think that everyone should wait tables or tend bar for one summer. It gives on an appreciation of the actual job.</p>
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I do think that everyone should wait tables or tend bar for one summer. It gives on an appreciation of the actual job.
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<p>Absolutely!
My younger son worked at a Mexican restaurant while in high school and during some Christmas and Spring Breaks while in college. Then, during the summer between college graduation and med school, he worked as a bartender at a popular restaurant to accumulate some pocket money for the next year. It was a LOT of work (I don’t know how bartenders remember all those drinks!) </p>
<p>^^Agree. I did it all through high school and college. D did it one summer during college. She said it made her even more intent on working hard in college so she would never have to do it again. S worked in catering one summer during college. He made it, but did not go back the next summer… We all appreciate good service and tip 20+% for good/friendly service. </p>
<p>DH was a bartender in college. Depending on who owns the place it may be different but where he worked they pooled the tip money with others for the shift and split it. Also they didn’t make minimum wage before their tips… </p>
<p>^^^
That’s how it was at my son’s bartending job. Knowing how low their hourly rate is makes it difficult to under-tip (in my head). </p>
<p>He and his co-workers really hated it when people would run up a tab, then get the big bill (larger than they likely expected), and then include a lousy tip. </p>
<p>My older D works in a restaurant as an expediter (the person who makes sure your order is correct) in the kitchen. But she is trained for all of the jobs except bar tending. Tips are pooled and divided in a complex percentage system, and so are the hourly wages. The only tips that are not pooled is when a pick-up order is delivered to the car and cash tips are made. I don’t know why that is. Also, the restaurant takes taxes out of their pay based on the total brought in, even if someone hasn’t tipped THEM. This can mean someone is paying taxes on tips they don’t have. No matter where someone is working at a restaurant, it’s very hard work, especially when it’s busy. </p>
<p>I know some on this forum believe tips are just an excuse for workers to lie to the IRS and pad their paychecks. Unless you’re working at a very high end place in management, it’s hardly the kind of job where you’re tolling in dough. We have a good friend who runs restaurants and is very successful, but the worker bees aren’t getting fat while doing an easy job. He also spent many years working his way up. My D loves it but she’s often exhausted and has to watch her money. I know that it’s one of the only industries where owners expect the public to supplement the wages they pay, but they do, and not tipping, or tipping too little means you’re taking money out of people’s pockets. </p>
<p>I started using cash only in restaurants whenever possible. I had my credit card number stolen at one and was charged for someone else’s dinner at another (two charges on my credit card within 1 minute of each other). Obviously the second one was a mistake and I got it sorted out. The first one my credit card company caught and immediately issued me a new card and cancelled the old one. But since then I try to go with cash. It also feels good to leave cash on the table for the server. I always over tip too. I round everything up and then calculate 20 percent and then round that up too. I’m pretty poor and don’t eat out much but I’m pretty sure I make more than the server and don’t work as hard. They deserve the tip. Even the crabby ones who are probably just having a hard day. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I admit, I was kind of ignorant when it came to tipping bartenders but I would have left $4 (~20%) here if I had felt the service was really good since it was a special drink. </p>
<p>I’ll let you know what happens. Have a good New Years! 
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<p>Daughter works part time at a restaurant in a tourist area with lots of international clients. She makes $4 per hour and is taxed on her total receipts as sseamom explained. Many of her customers tip either 10% or nothing. The Canadians are the worst tippers if they tip at all, and the Italians are the most generous. </p>
<p>S3 is a bartender and works hard at it. He knows an extensive bar menu, can make beer and wine recommendations, also serves the complete menu of food so knows everything a waiter knows about it. He studies and watches news and info on all sports so can discuss anything someone starts. If you order the same thing twice he remembers your regular order and how you like it prepared. He gets no paid vacation or sick time. He said changing the tip is not worth getting fired over. If somone undertips they just don’t get the full experience nex time. </p>
My parents would always put the cash tip on the table and then write “tip on table” on the tip line of the charge slip.
Hopefully, this was just a mistake of input.
I didn’t realize this, but are some people saying that the Server first runs the credit card, then gives it to the Guest, and then the Guest adds in the tip/total…and then SOMEONE ELSE later processes the transaction that adds in the tip? If that is standard now, then likely that “someone else” made the mistake…unless the server was able to someone alter a 2 into a 4 in some way that didn’t look too suspicious. (lol…do you put a loop in your 2 or do you make your 2 more like a typed 2?)
For those of us who eat out a lot and don’t think we’ve had this issue (upthread I mentioned one time BIG INCREASE that we know about), I’m wondering if most of the time we would really know. I can see why the OP would notice with only one item purchased, and knowing that his total was $21 and then rather soon seeing $23.
I don’t think we would really be able to catch small paddings…do most of us remember if a bill’s total was $43 or $46?