First for me: This happened at a small local coffee shop we’ve visited many times, though not recently. I added a tip, and rounded up slightly to make the final bill an even amount. We also recently signed up for charge-card instant notifications, so all this may have something to do with that process. Instant notification from the bank did not include tip – just the base bill amount (with taxes). SO, I thought perhaps tips are added later, and we monitored our account online for the final charge. We never received a second notification (for the tip), but the online bank statement a few days later showed a larger total, than what we signed for. The total on our bank statement was not that high (only 3 coffees plus tip), yet a few dollars more than it should have been - and no longer a rounded amount.
Now I’m totally confused.
I have our customer copy of the receipt which I wrote exactly the same as the copy we give the establishment , so I know what the total was supposed to be. Based on the difference, it was also not due to my handwriting . It is a very obvious difference. Normally we don’t even keep these types of receipts, especially for only coffee, but we were testing how this new-to-us system works. Did the establishment just increase the tip amount on their own? Bank make a mistake? Service charge (by bank or establishment) that was not outlined on the itemized bill?
We also noted other oddities, to this system, which I’ll post under Bill paying thread – but does anyone have a better explanation how tips work when receiving auto-alerts from a charge card?
Yikes! I almost always round off my tips to the dollar value to make it easier to spot something like this. Unfortunately, I don’t always check against the original so if someone added $2 but not $2 plus change, I wouldn’t notice it.
I just had a “planning” meeting with my COO to schedule our Wednesday summer golf boondoggles. We also discussed how generous our owner is when he hosts us at his very exclusive club. Last week the COO offered to tip their caddies as a gesture of appreciation. Each caddy carries 2 bags. Our owner told him the traditional tip is $250 per bag! It was $1,000 in tips!!!
My sons and my niece were caddies for several years and they made a lot of $$. Carrying 2 bags, watching 2 golfers for 18 holes is a lot of work. They often did double loops as well. I am not surprised at that tip amount at all.
Caddied when I was in HS at the “fancy course” primarily so I could get Monday playing privileges. Because I only went out on sporadic weekends, I got a lot of double crappy golfer bags. Think the old couple in Caddyshack, each with a Rodney Dangerfield bag in 90 degree heat and humidity.
Either someone purposely or accidentally entered the wrong tip amount at the shop. The credit cards usually won’t notify you (or me anyway) of the final charge. It’ll show online as “pending” immediately with the original amount and then when it’s finalized the charge with the tip shows up online.
If it’s wrong, you can certainly dispute it with the credit card. I might also call or go to the shop if it’s not too much of a burden.
I admit I never used to check that stuff closely in the past. Just scan and see if it was in the ballpark. I’m a bit more vigilant now since ilve heard plenty of stories of people entering higher tips amounts
This is sort of a tip story. My daughter got a flat tire yesterday in an unfamiliar area. She could see that there was a service station less than a mile away, so she put her blinkers on and drove there.
The mechanic? owner? came out and put her spare on, on the spot. He did not charge her anything. She tried to give him a $20 bill and he said, “get out of there with that, I don’t need it!”
I was glad to see there some nice, helpful folks in the world.
That’s awesome! I have awful luck with flat tires.
But my funniest story. I had a tire that shred completely on me when I was driving the two S’s. They were probably pre-school/early elem age. I limped into the parking lot of a popular Mexican restaurant. Out pops a group of guys wearing matching jackets and said they were a pit crew and were in town for a race at a nearby track.
It took that group FOREVER to get the spare tire on my little Lumina! But I was still very thankful not to have to call AAA.
Back in Y2K, I tried to tip the woman who came to do some touch up wall repairs in the house we bought at the end of previous year (this was a part of the warranty provided by the builder). She refused the money, and I was quite embarrassed. So no tipping of tradespeople.
I almost never tip tradespeople. An exception: we had a major build this past winter into early spring. I gave the three main guys who were here all the time a tip at the end. They finished on time and worked really hard in the most frozen part of winter, mostly outdoors.
It’s nice that you do that, but respectfully, IMO, it’s very unnecessary and creates part of the “tipping is out of control” culture that this country seems possessed by. It’s very unfair to create a culture in which tradespeople come to expect tips. There are lower income people in the neighborhood who are struggling to afford roof repairs. There should be no expectation that they need to provide tips on top of the estimate for a five-figure painting job, as an example. The less well-off neighbor shouldn’t fear they will get subpar work done because they can’t afford to tip on top of an agreed estimate.
I won’t be tipping the people who do a one day job fixing a leak in roof, but I was happy to give something to three guys who were here over the course of 10 weeks.
It’s been asked time and again in this thread, where is the line drawn? Do you tip the contractor, the plumber, the painter, the electrician? What about the guy who comes once a year to turn on the sprinkler system and is done in ten minutes? The Amazon delivery person, who could be someone new every time and likely will come when you’re not home? The planning board inspector, who came to check that our building project was in compliance?
Tipping for everything is out of control and the expectations for tips are also out of control.
Edit: Maybe a good rule of thumb is if it NEEDS to be done, probably no tip needed.
I tip the workers directly, in cash. I do not tip the “professional” (e.g. the plumber, the HVAC guy, etc.) but I do pay the actual painters inside (the owners have never painted my house, inside or out, and the supervisors just check in. I do tip the guys repairing my deck, again, not the supervisor but the workers. It’s not a ton of money, it is not based on the price of the job. It’s more time and effort - could be $20 or could be $100, just depends. To me, I feel they deserve it as I know many are hired because no one else will do the work. I think you can tell the difference.
I don’t think most people tip the owner of a trade company. I suspect nearly everyone who tips workers in this situation uses cash.
I understand your point about time and effort. I don’t think a people doing a one day job deserve a tip in most situations.
There are exceptions: I had a vent repaired and he discovered it was being used as an entrance for critters. He obtained an excluder cage to mount on the exterior of the vent, spent extra time to get it and mount it, extending his work day, and didn’t charge for the labor. That guy was a one man band and I gave him extra. I don’t really regard that as a tip though, more fair pay for his work.
I have never tipped the boiler company for their annual service or if they do a repair. Same for the people who replaced some rotten windows. Or the company who treated an area of mold.
I just wonder when people started tipping for these types of services. Maybe it’s regional. I grew up on the west coast. No one was ever tipped for things like that. The price is the price.
. It is a very obvious difference. Normally we don’t even keep these types of receipts, especially for only coffee, but we were testing how this new-to-us system works. Did the establishment just increase the tip amount on their own? Bank make a mistake? Service charge (by bank or establishment) that was not outlined on the itemized bill?