tipping question.

[Jay]

Let's say you are at a restaurant and you are paying your check with a credit card.  The check says the total for food and tax is $100.  You write nothing in the space for "tip" but you write $120.00 in the total, and sign.  Does the server receive the extra $20 as a tip?

 

I have heard that in some states the answer is yes, but in CA the answer is no.  Anyone know for sure about CA?

 

Thanks.

 

 

[tdawg87]

That sounds illegal. Like, you pay 20 dollars more for your bill and they just keep it?

[halonatic13]

Is this a trick question?

[Brandon]

Tipping threads are the best here.

I know that the place I go to they usually don't run the full amount or call the person if possible to verify.....they could be drunk.

But it seems discretionary.

[Mudville]

What I get from this is Jay is too lazy to fill out even a restaurant tip.

[Jay]

People visiting from other states are unwittingly stiffing their servers, this much I do know.

[Pbonetheman]

Legal or not, servers will write in the amount. 

[Pbonetheman]

At the bar I used to work at, the bartenders would add a 20% gratuity automatically if some douche bag left without the card for their tab. The next day the person would be hung over, pissed that they overspent, and try to stiff on the bill. 

[CaliAngel]

Let's say you are at a restaurant and you are paying your check with a credit card.  The check says the total for food and tax is $100.  You write nothing in the space for "tip" but you write $120.00 in the total, and sign.  Does the server receive the extra $20 as a tip?

 

I have heard that in some states the answer is yes, but in CA the answer is no.  Anyone know for sure about CA?

 

Thanks.

 

If you write $120 in the total, that should be the total amount the server claims and receives.

 

At the restaurants I've worked at in California, you don't insert the tip into the computer, you insert the total into the computer.

 

The computer keeps track of your sales, the total credit charges you've received, the bills you've closed in cash, and adds up total cash owed at the end of the night (depending on how many credit tips you receive, the restaurant might actually end up owing the server cash at pay out). When you print out the check, it shows the total sales, total tips, and subtracts the tips from what you owe in cash.

 

Servers and the like actually end up paying taxes on all credit recorded tips on their hourly paycheck. 

 

Now, if you put a "dash" through the "tip", that would mean "no tip" and that's a whole 'nother story. Because when that happens the guests would tend to leave a "cash" tip in the check, dashing through the "tip", and writing the total of the bill (with no tip added) on the merchant copy.

 

After working tip jobs for a couple years, now I typically leave cash tips, and write CASH in the tip space, and write the bills total. A cash tip gives greater chance that they can "pocket" the tip, not claim it at the end of the night, and not have to pay taxes on it. Because at the end of the night, you write in how much cash tips you were paid, and you can tell them you made 19% when in fact you might be walking with $160 cash on $550 in sales. 

 

The best kind of tip is one you don't have to claim for taxes! 

[Jay]

Is it possible that at some restaurants, there is a policy that if the customer leaves the TIP space blank, the amount of the bill must be entered rather than the handwritten total?

[sneaky_flute]

one would think the tip is implicit and i don't know why a waiter would get in trouble for claiming the tip.

[Ray McKigney]

I know a girl that posts pics of all her bad tip receipts on facebook. I don't know if she's a shitty waitress or if people are really just that cheap.

[Brandon]

It's funny you mention that Ray, I'm at my spot too much and am close with the bartender/serving crew and not only are they the types to not complain, but are good at their service to where they get good tips.....I assume good since some are either buying homes or saving for them.

They know you get the stiff assholes, but they are offset by us regs and people that they work hard for. They also seem to grasp the business and business model of their compensation.

The ones I see complain the most are entitled youngsters that don't feel they have to work for tips and also work at crappy places like Sizzler or Applebees where you get a lower end clientele. You never see the good bartenders/servers talking about tips or pay.

[Brandon]

I also hope that chick gets fired. Can you imagine a place like Nordstrom where the women's shoes and suit section are commission only and an employee talking about how a patron wasted their time and put up a pic of the person?

My friends don't condone this behavior, and actually let a chick go because of it, but it's the only profession where you see it and it gets so personal.

[Ray McKigney]

Yeah, she's always been a really ditzy girl. I don't think she realizes posting a picture of the receipt with the person's name and the name and address of the restaurant may lead to negative things. 

[katie]

We'll read about her someday and the thread will be a few pages long.

[Brandon]

Yeah, she's always been a really ditzy girl. I don't think she realizes posting a picture of the receipt with the person's name and the name and address of the restaurant may lead to negative things.

Ah, the lifer.

[mrwicked]

My friends leave the tip blank all the time - put in a nice total and let the server fill in the tip.

Done.

[Brandon]

I like to leave everything blank and just sign. It's like russian roulette every time you look at the bank account.

[arch stanton]

I still use cash as often as possible. 

[CaliAngel]

I don't know if she's a shitty waitress or if people are really just that cheap.

 

Probably both. Seeing as how she doesn't even bother to think of the consequences of posting the checks online, it makes sense. 

 

one would think the tip is implicit and i don't know why a waiter would get in trouble for claiming the tip.

 

I've worked at 3 restaurants, if that total is on there and you show the manager "this is what I'm entering" they won't even bat an eye. If the customer comes back to complain "I didn't write that!" the manager can bring out a copy of the receipt, say "You wrote and signed for this total" and "that's what we authorized" and that's pretty much it. 

 

BTW don't even think people WON'T come back if you think you can get away with adding a tip they didn't sign for. I used to be a server trainer and people would come back the next day over something as small as a $3-$5 difference in tips they know they didn't approve, and some of our less experienced servers would get written up. Sometimes you'd swear the cheapos were just waiting for some repercussions because they know they didn't tip well. 

[katie]

The bar tender at mutt lynch's once didn't like the $1 tip I left on 1 beer (I never carry cash and opened a tab with the possibility of more beers), so he decided to add a 0. I guess he thought I'd be too drunk to remember how much I'd spent? I wonder if he does that to other people? I called and complained and the bank let me have my money back.

[2112]

The bank probably wrote it off. Usually under $10 it's not worth disputing.

[katie]

They gave me the 5 or 6 back for my beer too. Cha Ching.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The bar tender at mutt lynch's once didn't like the $1 tip I left on 1 beer (I never carry cash and opened a tab with the possibility of more beers), so he decided to add a 0. I guess he thought I'd be too drunk to remember how much I'd spent? I wonder if he does that to other people? I called and complained and the bank let me have my money back.

 

I've seen that place at Newport Beach but have never gone in.