This may be anecdotal, but I ran into this exact same issue a few weeks ago. The suggested 20% was significantly higher than the 20% on the bill. It took me a little bit to figure out, but we were at the restaurant for a steak special and happy hour. The 20% tip was for the non-special price. For example, the steak and two sides special was $18, but the normal price was $28. The drinks were $5 but the normal price was $8. So the suggested tip was 20% of $36, not 20% of $23. These aren’t the exact numbers, and there were two of us, but you get the idea. The POS/Tip suggestion is setup so the servers don’t get the shit end of the stick when the restaurant is doing a deal/special. I’m not sure I fully agree with it, and I have my own beef with tipping culture in general, but I’m just looking to explain what might be seen in OP’s photo.
It’s not hard to include a disclaimer tip prices based on full price if that’s the case to avoid looking bad.
That’s should be common sense. Tip on the FULL amount not on a discount you received, you didn’t get discounted food or service so tip accordingly. It’s not hard.
Understood, but not my problem. If it says 20%, it should be 20%. For trying to pull shit like this it is going to be a 0% from me.
I went to a restaurant recently with my wife for our anniversary. Had great reviews on Google Maps above 4.5 stars. Yes I know this should not be the only indicator of a good experience, but the food sounded good and it was in a neighborhood we don’t often go to. Something new.
When we got the bill, the server came to us and skipped past the food prices to the tip screen immediately. That should have been my red flag to stop and ask why she did that, but I didn’t. I tipped 20%, then later found out that they already included that in the bill. So I tipped 20% on top of the total that already included 20%. Needless to say I won’t be going back.
Do a review on Google maps, and TripAdvisor, if you are in a touristy city. Warn the world, and put the ownership on notice.
Oh we did
Also consider complaining to the secretary of state perhaps? Idk, it’s not city tax revenue so not likely, but it’s still fraud. But I would definitely consider a chargeback. This is just like in the old days when managers or severs would scribble in a different tip and total on the merchant copy.
This seems like it is probably more of a server issue, and not a restaurant issue. The server has learned how to increase their tips, I doubt that’s company policy. This is Management’s problem to solve, not the government’s.
This is bad logic. Every industry has a thousand things they solve by regulation to establish a sane baseline that you experience every day mistaking this hard won normalcy for a self occurring default.
The behavior that is described is actually fraud and if you consider across just this one employees year it probably is thousands of dollars in fraud. It would be normal to report such to the city government which reports such to the business which in turn fires the server and trains the rest not to defraud customers.
This is one server, in one restaurant, not an industry-wide issue. Expecting some kind of regulatory remedy over an anecdotal issue is not the answer. I’m not a right-winger by any means, but even I know that the government isn’t the solution to anything. There already is a law against this, so the local gendarmes are as far as this needs to go.
Remember when your mom told you “Don’t make a Federal case out of it?” This is the kind of thing she was talking about, literally.
It actually already does cover it. He’s tricking folks into tipping twice by failing to disclose that they have already tipped. It’s simple fraud.
Tipping, specifically in the original context of restaurants, I will still do, simply because the government needs to change the minimum wage so that servers are included. They’re currently a protected group that is allowed to be paid far less than minimum wage, and they are supposed to make up the difference in tips.
In every other context, wow me and I’ll tip you, otherwise, don’t expect shit.
If you did your job as you are expected to do, then I don’t see why I need to tip.
It was always a dumb idea to pay servers LESS because they got tips. There was a time when tips were mostly cash and you didn’t have to claim them as income. But now that advantage is almost completely gone. And we should just end tipping. If you go out and don’t like the service then don’t go back. Just like it works with any other business.
Thank you! After all the comments and being a server I was starting to feel like I was going crazy!
Like you said, tip your servers accordingly and if not then don’t go the f out! Go through a drive thru instead!
And if you hate the tipping culture then try to change it! Don’t punish the servers for your selfish actions and beliefs for a service rendered! You don’t HAVE to be waited on… you chose that! So don’t choose to not tip that’s an asshole move and if you’re a regular even worse!
This is exactly me. I still tip you all. Even if the food sucked, I’m doing what I can to leave a tip.
I’d add a caveat for bad service, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve met a server yet that deserved to not be tipped (aka, paid fairly for their service).
If you suck at your job, you won’t have it very long. Server or not. Let’s let the system work the way it does for everyone else. Ban below minimum wage wages for servers.
Once that happens, I can happily never tip again.
You could easily get away with not claiming cash tips as income, that is.
Are you encouraging people to do a crime?
Tax evasion is serious you know!
… Nevermind that the IRS lacks resources to actually audit even the top 0.1% of earners to make sure they aren’t doing anything funky… Nevermind having the resources to audit any of the rest of us… It’s illegal!
No you cannot, you need to claim all, if not… that’s stealing!
Tips in the US must be entirely out of control. In my experience, 10% is for good service, above for rare exceptional and less if you weren’t entirely satisfied. Not even printing anything below 16 is insane.
Tipped minimum wage in the US is $2.13/hour, hence the reason for the high percentages.
Idk where you are living but in MN it’s $11.10/hr plus tips. I get paid more because I am an assistant manager as well so $15/hr plus my tips as a server. I make almost 3X more than when I was a teacher working full time and I have half as many hours…
Oh right i forgot about that. That’s insane as well; minimum wage should be… well, minimum, obviously; for everyone.
Sad thing is regular minimum is only $7.25 at the federal level. This country absolutely despises it’s workers.
That’s the true problem, federal minimum wage hasn’t changed in decades despite the inflation and costs over the years! That’s the true problem!
But nobody wants to work anymore!!!
/s
Cant wait for this meme to be 20k pixels tall with new screenshots when I die
Should be changed to, “Nobody wants to work anymore because the wage isn’t livable anymore”.
I was hired on my first job at $14/hr as a retail associate back in like 2005! Same job today has the same wage… well $15/hr but still 20 years later… savage! Hmmmm, wondering why no one wants to work, that job can’t even pay the rent of most places in America with all the other costs of living. (Car, insurance, phone, utilities, etc.).
Okay, this image would be better if it actually showed whatever article it came from, so we could verify the print and date. These could all be books printed in 2016 for all we know. But like I totally believe it.
Edit: I have the grammar of a 3rd grader
the idea of percentage based tipping is so wild to me, in my mind a tip is only based on the reason i want to tip them.
If they did an impressive job but just did their job then i’ll give them a euro or something, if they had to endure something miserable like cleaning up baby vomit then they get like 10 euro because god knows that’s what i’d need to stay on that job.Also, importantly, the tip is in cash and goes directly to the person i think deserves it, and i’m going to tell the worker that wink wink nudge nudge if the employer asks then i didn’t give them a tip.
Fuck tips. 0 tips. Pay your people.
You pay for the service of being waited on… don’t want to tip… then go to McDonald’s! wtf! 🤬
Is there an option to pick up my own food at the counter? I’d gladly do it.
Yes, it’s call take out. But still employees have to put the order together, bag it, and ensure everything is 100%, so def should tip them something!
I don’t tip for take out I have to pick up myself. But tipping culture here in The Netherlands is vastly different than the US. We basically only tip in restaurants, and only if the service was really good. Most people don’t tip for bad or average service.
Yeah, a lot of people don’t tip for take out, but who do you think makes and puts together your order for a nice restaurant take out? (I work for a Sushi and Steakhouse). Sadly, we have to and ensure orders are right and still don’t get tipped. It’s not a McDonald’s (we have many other options and temps of food, etc.). You came to a nice restaurant for take out and we ensure all is well, we had to put together your order and ensure all food is correct, it’s vastly different than a fast food drive thru. Yes, you had to pick it up but we still had to put the order together and ensure all the fine food is correct. If that makes sense, it’s different.
We don’t just heat up a cooked burger patty and put it on a bun and shove you through a drive thru, it’s 100% different. You came to a sushi steakhouse with different orders and temps of foods with modifications very different than the standard “take out”.
Basically, America just needs to pay the employees vs tips but that’s not changing. I was a teacher for years but with the recent political drama and parents shoving their kids to iPads with no respect I left and found out I am making almost 3X a month as a server than a teacher, that’s savage!
the restaurant pays for their staff… should you pay for having a table and chair too? staff is a basic requirement of a restaurant
Welcome to America where tipping culture is a thing, don’t like it, get take out and fuck off!
It’s not a “service”. All I want from the staff is to tell them what I want to order and to bring the food. That’s all. I don’t see what extra “service” I’m supposedly paying for
I like prompt refills. I’m happy to tip for that.
If I was your server, I would get you!! Never would be empty! Usually half full is when I ask if they want another.
Do you tip for the service for customer tech support or similar customer facing industries as well?
No, your comment is asinine and completely irrelevant, when you call tech support for example, Apple or AT&T, you are already paying their damn salaries with the bill you pay each month (plus they get paid more an hr-duh).
You don’t pay my salary when you come in dine at my table for hours and eat like $200 worth of food and provide NO tip! You occupied my table knowing others could come in and give me a better tips, that’s the difference!! You clearly haven’t worked in the food industry before.
I have! But in a civilized country, not the USA. I do pay your salary when I go to the restaurant, yes. You are paid by the restaurant only because people go there and eat. Your salary is literally dependant on people ordering food. It is the service you provide, you are not a fucking independent contractor that I have personally hires to serve my table lol. You are on the restaurant’s payroll, same as tech support is on whatever company’s payroll. No tips for one, no tips to the other. A techy gets paid the same whether they spend 5 hours on a ticket and licks the customer’s dick, or if they spend one hour and are complete asses.
Yeah, you have never worked the service industry in America so… comment invalid.
Don’t like tipping in the US than don’t go out, or stay in whatever county you are skimming servers out of tips you live in…
My restaurant actually pays us more than the bogus ass fed minimum wage and I don’t have to “kiss ass” of customers they genuinely like me, might be hard for you to comprehend but I get well over 20% on almost every table. I can make $3-4k a month with my wage and shifts like 25hrs a week, that’s what’s wrong in the US. When you make more as a server with half the hours than a full time teacher, something’s got to change…
Bottom line, my restaurant pays me $11.10/hr or $15/hr (asst manager) plus tips so basically tip your servers or do not go out and hit a drive thru instead. Stop punishing us because of what you believe in…
I’m all for refusing to tip, but be up-front about it. Let the server know ahead of time that you won’t be tipping. Hell, let the manager (or if it’s a smaller place, the owner) know too, so you can actually get your opinion heard by someone who may be able to effect change. Make it clear that your refusal to tip is not a reflection of the server, but a protest against tipping culture.
Hell, while talking to the manager, you should also ask if they require servers to tip out the back-of-house staff. If you’re refusing to tip, it’s entirely possible that your server is losing money on your order, because they’re required to pay the kitchen a percentage of your bill. If the server is required to tip out, be clear that you want your bill excluded from the tip out, since you’re refusing to tip based on strongly held personal beliefs. If the manager protests or says it isn’t possible (it is possible, but they’ll lie to try to get you to tip), then they can serve you personally.
You’ll still get served, but it’ll be with the level of service that the waiter thinks you should get, rather than with the level of service that you think you deserve. If you’re going to refuse to tip, at least take the mask off and be honest so your server can do the same.
If you’re willing to do that, then more power to you. Believe it or not, many servers will be chill about it, and treat you the same as any other customer. Especially if you’re there when it’s slow, and they don’t need to tip out the back of house staff. They’re not losing any money by serving you, and they aren’t super busy so they have no reason to ignore you. But if you’re afraid to be honest because you might get worse service, then you’re just a scab who is leeching from the tipping culture and only hurting the working class.
Restaurant tries to scam customers, yet they still give a 20% tip?
The solution is to never step foot in the restaurant again not punish the server.
Thank you! I am just one server do not punish me because you hate the tipping culture of America! Don’t like it, like you said, don’t go to a damn restaurant then! Easy peasy!
Don’t punish another person for your thoughts, feelings, etc about the situation of tipping, it’s not their fault, it’s yours for not tipping them because “you don’t agree” then go to damn McDonald’s!
I’ve never worked as a server but I did date one long ago who said something to the effect, “that $5 means more to her than you” and while I was not nearly as financially stable back then, that idea has stuck with me.
An extra isn’t going to make or break my day but it could make someone else’s day.
Another way I’ve been thinking about this is how for a brief moment you someone’s “boss.” If you’ve ever complained about unfair compensation what does it say about you that you’re using than brief moment of power to be what you hate.
I agree! $5 to you might not mean much but to a server it would mean everything. It makes up for bad tippers or worse the no tippers at all. The little things makes servers day honestly!
And yeah, but I am not truly “their boss” it’s more that I have to deal with unsatisfying customers, intake orders of food and beverage vendors, and ensuring all customers are satisfied plus doing my server role… so honestly, it’s me dealing with all the issues but still having tables. I love my place of work and will never leave since I make like $3-4k a month as a server and that’s like 1/2 of what I was making as a teacher full time but some customers are the worst and would rather get paid less than dealing with them honestly…
Pretty sure the waitress wasn’t the one who fucked with the register. Probably the restaurant trying to ensure they don’t have to pay the difference if the tips come up short and leave the staff below minimum wage.
The “I’m just doing my job” defence. Nice.
Are you comparing the waitress not proofreading the math on a preprinted receipt (arguably not their job) to soldiers actively committing war crimes?
No. Soldiers are very much protected from such orders in most countries. They can’t be held responsible for refusing to follow an illegal order.
I mostly hear the argument from civilians helping their employer commit crime.
Have you ever heard of ICE?? They are committing out right kidnappings of citizens “under the orders” of a helmet haired toddler who shits his own pants… really? They clearly are upholding these illegal acts and do not care! They don’t even show their faces! SHAME!
Plus also, Nazis in WWII went along with Hitler when they shouldn’t have for an example. Or putting Asian Americans into camps after the bombings due to fear they were ALL somehow involved!?
I feels like reasoning like this is why it would never end.
It’s logical, it’s not the wait staff’s fault. You’re correct though that it’s an endless circle, with the only solution being that everyone stops supporting places that don’t pay employees well. Which means don’t go to any US restaurants, or any retail. There is the bigger endless circle, trying to get the masses to all participate in such a boycott.
Shafting the waitress is not going to end it either. Most people wouldn’t notice this, so they’d still keep doing it if you didn’t tip.
The play here is to tip the waitress in cash if possible and slam the establishment on every review site.
stop tipping so waitstaff finds another job and restaurants that don’t pay enough go out of business
ezpz
They also paid it on the tax. Supposed to figure off the subtotal
Yep, that’s a solid 0% for me
“Fuck you restaurant for trying to scam me, now I’ll only pay the correct 20% extra on top of my bill”
Wait so you get scammed but still give 20% tips? This would be an automatic 0% tip
You think the wait staff setup the machine to do math wrong?
yes?
No, that would be the owner or the manager. The best thing to do is never go back and tell everyone you can that they try to rip people off.
Holding the owner responsible for their actions? Sorry chief best I can do is scream at the meakest looking waiter I can find until the police escort me out.
Yeah, what’s likely happening here is that the tip numbers were calculated off the subtotal intentionally. So say you buy a “happy hour” drink and it is $3 instead of $6, they tip is calculated before the “discount”.
Their machine could have actually been wrong, but using a total before discounts seems more likely.
On the surface, I can understand this. It’s not the server’s fault that they got the happy hour rush when everything is 50% off. If anything, they had to work harder because it was busier. Why punish them for that extra work with lower tip calculations? The drinks aren’t any easier or faster to pour just because they’re half off. It should at least be transparent, but I at least understand the reasoning.
What does bug me is when the tip calculations are based on the after-tax total. Fuck that, I’m already getting taxed 10% on this, you don’t need your 18% calculated from that extra 10%.
I’ll meet you half way, we’ll not suggest you pay tips on taxes, but you will pay a $2.99 dining room fee to use our facilities. You can avoid this by doing pick up with a $1.99 convenience fee.
No deal.
*Goes to the place across the street with no BS fees.
Perfect, then I don’t waste my time, table, and food waiting on someone who won’t tip vs someone who will.
I agree if you don’t like it, don’t go there, stop punishing others based off your beliefs.
“punishing others based off your beliefs”
Lmao, the sense of entitlement from this one…
I don’t really follow this reasoning, so a drink cost X but you calculate Y because at other times it costs Y.
So if you go to a cheap restaurant you increase your tip because the restaurant next door has higher prices? The staff in the cheap restaurant works just as hard, maybe harder.
This whole tip thing need to die ASAP. If everybody just stopped tipping staff would get a normal pay or a better paying other job. But if you don’t tip, how do you show appreciation?? Well, do you tip your wife when she does something nice for you?? No, so people can show appreciation without money.
Wow! Servers are providing a service of waiting on you when you could have made your own food at home without “tipping” your wife. That comparison is asinine and doesn’t belong in your comment. Vastly different!
And the previous commenter stated just because you got $100 worth of half off drinks so $50, you shouldn’t tip off the $50. Drinks were the same, service was the same, etc. just because you have a discount doesn’t mean you had “discounted” service therefore, should still tip off the TOTAL BEFORE DISCOUNTS!
I agree tipping culture needs to die but in America where I was a teacher for years and now make more money as a server with half the hours shows the broken systems of America. Something has to change and not tipping your server isn’t going to do anything but hurt a fellow human trying to just get by like themselves!
Want change? Go to the govt, create a bill, talk to reps for your state, but stop punishing servers for your selfish beliefs and actions! Don’t like it, don’t go out! Want change, then do it!
Tipping is a holdover from slavery. It’s a way to control service workers.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t tip people who rely on tips, it means the system is fucking broken by design.
Tips are a big reason I stopped going out. Everybody wants one.
That would be a reason not to give a tip.
No because I live in Australia where the govt forces restaurants to Pay their staff in full rather than outsource their wages to the customers directly.
Edit: Pay, not Pauly.
It was probably the percentage BEFORE a discount was given… just because a discount happens doesn’t mean you should skip out on the tip of a server… example, you have a $100 bill with a $50 discount, you DO NOT TIP ON THE DISCOUNT, you tip on THE TOTAL bill of service. You still all got the same amount of food and service, so stop with this short tipping staff!
Can’t afford a tip then don’t fucking go to a damn restaurant! I make more as a server with half the hours than when I was a full time teacher! America is fucked but don’t fuck fellow people over because you can’t comprehend the tipping culture and are a cheap POS!
You’re right. Not sure why you’d be down voted, other than if people found your conclusion a bit heavy.
Thank you!! They didn’t like my responses as a fellow server former teacher! I make more with half the hours as a server than a full time teacher, that’s savage and what’s truly wrong with America! Don’t like the tipping culture than don’t go out, it’s not that fucking hard. Don’t punish servers for your beliefs! I just don’t get people. Why downvote me when I am providing my first hand experiences?
This may be a “hot take” but the service staff is employed by the restaurant, not me. It’s not my job to pay the employees of the restaurant. It’s the owners and employers job to pay the staff. I want to know the price of the thing I’m buying when I order it, not after taxes are added and in some places a “cost of living” fee on top of that. Then to expect the customer to pay even more on top of all the extra bs fees the house charges instead of just increasing the price of the food. No thanks
In your experience what percentage of people tipped $0 or far less than 20%?
The problem is that because of the way it’s written, it ends up being misleading.
If there was a simple disclaimer like “tip based on non-discounted prices”, it would’ve been fine.
I agree but also, that’s common sense… just because your bill was discounted doesn’t mean you discount my tip, you still got all the food and great service, so wtf! I don’t get how people are still confused, tipping in America has been a thing for decades!
Still potentially misleading. If the receipt doesn’t say anything about the discount (which is not clear because we can’t see what’s above the total), then you can’t tell. Again, a simple disclaimer should be enough. If there are things like “please open box before eating pizza”, then this shouldn’t be a problem.
If you’re a regular at the place, you might know about the specials. If you just walk in one time and you don’t see a label, a receipt like this will be misleading if it doesn’t state the discounts and tip bases.
It common sense, tip off TOTAL bill NOT discounted prices, you got the same service and food so… tip accordingly of TRUE amount. It’s not “misleading” it’s a true fact, tip based of total.
Like I said before, you get $100 worth of drinks with a discount of half off so $50, you do NOT tip off $50. You got $100 worth of drinks and services so tip off that! Don’t like it, don’t go out. Don’t agree, then create a bill and call your govt reps, do not punish fellow humans because you “don’t agree”. We are all just trying to live. If anything, make your own food at home and there you go, NO TIP NEEDED… but no, you came out to get waited on therefore, provide tips accordingly, we are not just at the restaurant for pleasure…
As I said, it’s not evident at all if those are full or discounted prices, so in the latter case it’s a misleading number.
Anyway, I don’t live in a place with broken wages and tipping system, so I don’t have to deal with problems like this. Where I am wait staff gets adequate wages and tips are only a bonus on top of that.
Stop tipping!!! no more
Stop tipping culture. If you just stop tipping people who rely on tips, you just make their lives much harder
Ok genius, tell us how to stop tipping culture without stopping tipping?
Pass a law that removes the minimum wage exemption for “tipped” professions.
What a coincidence I just put on my lawmaking socks!
And they still tipped?
My tip would have been 0 right there and would have included a complaint with police
Highly doubt the server was being malicious. They aren’t putting that on the receipt. It’s a shitty thing for sure but it’s unlikely that server had anything to do with it.
If your employees rely on tips to meet months end, your business model is shit.
