Small rant - don't round up my restaurant check!

[Dirtyhip]

Dwight Schrute from the office said it best on tipping: "Why tip someone for a job I'm capable of doing myself? I can deliver food. I can drive a taxi. I can, and do, cut my own hair. I did however, tip my urologist, because I am unable to pulverize my own kidney stones."

 

[bgelber]

we tip usually 20% even for bad service 10% to 15%. There are some exceptions, if we eat at a buffet or you let our drinks run out repeatedly. Now that being said if we eat with a coupon we will tip based on what would have been the total instead of the decreased amount.

BUT if you keep my change I will give you h*ll, plus complain to the manager.

 

[dewey]

I haven't had checks rounded, up nor down, but I've heard of it happening from coast to coast. If a place rounds up and down, which is typically what they do, then it pretty much balances out for the house but not for the consumer unless they dine there often. One time diners often get jipped, and since most establishments have a lot of one time diners, rounding up and down favors only the house. We (in a different industry) only round down in favor of the consumer when there's any rounding done and we would never round up in our favor. Ever. Not even if only 10 cents on a $5000+ bill, no less the same amount on a $50 bill. I can't see the practice creating good PR if it offends even 1 consumer for the price of a few cents, plus, isn't keeping funds without consumer consent illegal in most places?

We tip a minimum of 20%+ for good service and we don't reduce tips for things that are out of a server's control. If service is bad enough to reduce a tip by a significant amount then we speak to the manager, who usually comps something and addresses the server in private to hopefully correct their issues. (In our industry when we've comped something that's truly due to an employee's lack of stellar service, we take actions to correct the behavior or let them go. No owner wants to give away the house.

)

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

In Australia they round up but they also round down everywhere..including the supermarket! I didnt mind it at all when i was visiting there a few years ago. It all evened out in the end. The smallest denomination coin they have is 5c (nickle) so it goes... 5c coin 10c coin 50c coin $1 coin and $2 coin.....pretty cool I thought! I wish they would get rid of at least the pennies over here.

Waiters and waitresses over there get paid a full wage (usually $10-12+ an hour depending on the establishment) and usually only visitors tip so they all have a "I don't care" attitude and service sucks because of it. Having been an "American" for 30+ years I was rather shocked at the horrible service.

But I agree..rounding up is stealing when it doesnt go both ways.

 

[dewey]

Quote:
Same here.

 

[HHandbasket]

Nothing like that has ever happened to me, but if it did, this is how I would handle it. I would not walk away until I received all my change and would politely tell the person who gave me my change that they gave me the incorrect amount, that I was owed $2.48, not $2.00.

The cashier is likely pocketing the small change, and if they do that to several customers a day, it adds up to a lot of extra change in their pockets.

And like others have said, I would immediately report it to management and would not leave the restaurant until I had spoken to a manager.

You should not allow yourself to get short-changed like that, and I would certainly look into the legality of it, as well. I don't think legally they can do that.

 

[EweSheep]

I like to tip waitresses anywhere from $3.00 to $5.00 for the hour we are there and our meal of three usually runs under $21.00.

Now if you all would have met my FIL, he NEVER tips ANY waitresses. He told me that if they want tips or more pay, they have to go elsewhere for a REAL job for so called tips!

 

[OldGuy43]

Since we've gotten sidetracked onto the subject of tipping; Little Known Tipping Etiquette. (or at least it used to be this way)

Leaving a penny means, "I wish it could be more, but I'm really poor." (Bad service? Leave 5¢.)
Leaving the tip in the water glass means, "This is for the dishwasher." (A real slam to the waitperson if you leave them very little or nothing.)

Another hint; When paying for your meal with a credit card pay the tip with cash, particularly if it's a sizable one. Why? Because what the IRS doesn't know doesn't hurt them. This probably applies to management where they rip off their employees with the $2 & change/hour deal too.

As for the amount I agree with rebelcowboysnb. I've even had a couple that got the 100%, but that's rare.

If all else fails, vote with your wallet. Take your business elsewhere.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
That is what happens to me a lot. They round it down instead of up. Bought pizza this weekend and was supposed to get back $0.41, instead she gave me $0.50.

 

[dewey]

I prefer giving tips in cash when possible but often the tip amount needs to be included on the card or receipt for biz accounting purposes.

If I didn't get the correct change back I'd ask about it. I've heard some people say that they were told the restaurant didn't like to deal with coins. That's just hilarious to me because it's guaranteed owners don't mind coins when they add up to 1000's of dollars a year in their pockets, and they surely would notice even a few hundred dollars missing if it was missing out of their pocket, lol.