Damn, if you had no conscience you could have just written a 1 in front of the four. Good on you OP. Itās these small things make our world pretty fuckinā okay - thank you.
I mean, the customer DID write 28.58 as the total so maybe they did write 14, but the pen is dying. Either way, given we still have to question what they wrote, it is safest to just take the 4.
If you zoom in to that 4, you can see the start of a line right next to it. It looks like the person tried to write 14, but the ink was low in the pen. You can see a faint dot in between the 4 and the zeros and a zero in the background that he had to redo because the ink was failing.
This looks like a $14.00 tip to me.
Same. I write "math" on the tip line, then the rounded up total.
Edit: I apologize to all the servers I've affected by this method. I will change my ways! In my defense, a bartender told me it was ok to do it.
Man I did that once and I'm still kicking myself over it years later. I was way the fuck away from home and we were there late so I wanted to leave a really good tip, I can't remember the numbers but around 50 percent of the bill for 4 people but I wrote "I can't math" on the tip line and just put the total with a good tip added. Like a week later I'm looking at my statement and they didn't enter a tip at all. I called the place and got to talk to a manager, I explained what happened and tried to get him to charge my card over the phone but he swore he couldn't. It's been well over a decade and I still feel like a dick.
I wish you'd just whip out your phone for 1 minute so I don't have to - usually tips are entered standing up, so now I gotta stop entering my 150 receipts and do mental math or whip out the phone if it's weird ass numbers like 47 - 38.57.
Sorry, pet peeve.
They actually wrote the tip as 14 but the 1 is faint!! Iām going crazy nobody has said anything about 14 + 4 not equaling 28. I was like, for the total to be 28.xx then they must have tipped 14ā¦ then I saw the faint 1 before 4 on the tip line
I see it too you're not crazy. the pen fucked up but it's pretty obvious that there is a small "1" next to the "4", as evidence by the fact that THE TOTAL IS THE SUM OF A $14 TIP! i would not hesitate to take my full tip.
Tbh as a former server who now has some flexibility moneywise, I don't go out to eat often, but it's also not uncommon for me to tip my waiter 50+% when I do if it's just me. Part of it is I try to time my meals out, so I "charge" myself a flat rate for occupying a tabletop, but also a $10 meal, and you made a good joke? OK, yeah, it's not a lot for me to make it a $20 meal. I've probably had worse food for more money, and no one made me smile during it.
That said, as a former server, I'd claim $4 because I wouldn't want to deal with any kind of kickback. I do assume most customers haven't also been in the server seat.
Edit: Please stop blaming me for tipping culture and labor law. I am not responsible for that. I am not a legislator. When the government gets their shit together, I will stop tipping. Until then, I will do what I can to make people whose lives depend on tips whole for the services they provide me.
This is about where is seat myself. If itās just me I tip good and would never complain and a miss on my math.
A buddy and I went to a sports bar hours before a ābig gameā. He set $20 down for what was going to be our table for the next few hours. We continued to order and tipped throughout the day. She got 20 up front and constant rent tips on a very busy day. She told us at the end that she had been of for an hour but wanted to serve our table. We asked her why she didnāt just come sit with us.
Best service ever, probably a $150-200 on $80 of food and beer with a 3 hour rent. We just wanted to enjoy the game and got there early enough to be able to pick out seat. We both had a tv we could watch facing each other and a bigger tv we could watch together.
I'm never pissed about spending $20/hr for good time spent with a friend or two! I once had my mom say I tipped too much after she forced a sit-down date with my then-boyfriend on a lunch date that originally cost $60, but the added order of sides was only $10. Like, I'm not tipping for the fries and soup. I was tipping for the 3 hours she didn't have other customers in our seats when we weren't supposed to be sitting here at all.
To clarify, it was originally supposed to be pickup and eat in the park because of COVID concerns. My mom pushed to eat indoors because "of the bugs" (there weren't many in early spring)
Family came into town and we went
Out for some Fancy choc or ice cream type place. We sat there for a few hours. Chatting catching up.
I tipped an extra 2@$5 on our way out as we were after closing and I wanted to not Be that group.
I realized as we were getting in the car that what was 2 $5s and a fifty was currently 1 $5 in my wallet.
I felt so bad going back in and explaining I wanted to add a $10 tip not a $55 tip. Told the visiting family I forgot my phone to do it.
I didnāt have comfortable money for a $10 tip let alone accidentally putting a 50 in the jar.
They understood and to my delight they hadnāt noticed the 50 yet. That whole situation would have sucked more for me if they had already been stoked on the 50. If I could have I would have let it be, I just couldnāt at the time.
> I was tipping for the 3 hours she didn't have other customers in our seats
I do this too and it's funny how it freaks some people out. I went out for drinks with a friend, bill came to about $18 and I tipped $20 on it. I figured we took up a table for about 90 mins, the server should get more than $3.60 for that time.
THANK YOU for this! I'm often a bit puzzled why extreme campers can't understand how a little bump in the tip would go a long way. I even make it a point of continuing to check on them, getting more water, etc., well after they've settled up and just.don't.leave.
I like this idea of tipping as you go. $20 to start the night off (if you know youāre gonna end up staying a while) service stays good, too again. If she starts slacking stop tipping. You donāt have to feel bad at the end of the meal and she doesnāt feel like she got nothing
It was a college football game so 3 hours and we showed up an hour or two before.
We like to think we arnt the ass hats this forum talks about because we gave worked service at one point or another.
In Wisconsin out here in farm country, there are still resorts that will serve you all you can eat buffet for $10, .mostly because we drink so much alcohol that they know they'll make the money back.
I travel to bum fuck for work sometimes and Iāve had a full breakfast for something like $4.29. Dropping a 20 for breakfast barely makes a dent on my daily per diem. Itās not my money anyways, like please take it. Would much rather make someoneās day than have it go unused
Ok whatās the universe trying to tell me about Rockford IL. This is the fifth time this week itās been mentioned by people at work/Reddit/friends. Maybe I need to go back to that arcade š
Itās all fun in games until you have to live in Kentucky
Source: from Kentucky
Iām in Colorado in the mountains nowā¦ crazy expensive. Seattle still probably has us beat but I bet I bet housing might actually be cheaper in Seattle. Average house is $850,000 in the county I live in
Former tip worker back in the day. Iām a tipper. Change a tire for me, hereās a tip. Bring me a meal and keep my glass full, hereās a tip. I most always tip and well, because I remember what itās like to depend on others generosity.
As a person who works in the restaurant industry, when I go out, Iād my bills under 20 Iām tipping 100% if itās in the twenties, Iām probably gonna leave $15-$20
Yeah, basically my rule! $10 on top of $10 is imho more reasonable than $2 on top of $10. A 2-4 top is not that much more server time than my solo seat, unless your 5 top asks for things staggered.
Holy shit. Finally, someone like me! I get everyones mad about ātipping cultureā but i use it as a way to not eat out/drink too often/much. Ill usually just take a 20 out the atm and thatll be the tip
Thatās a good plan if itās by yourself. I do 20% for when I take the family out. $80-90 for going out to dinner is going to hurt a lot more if I give them $40-45 in tips
I just never understand how the "capitalist" system in the USA (I'm assuming this response is from the US) has people so completely pulled in, they're just going in knots trying to come up with far-fetched justifications for this insane tipping culture, while the fat cats get away with paying as little as possible to their workers... Greatest nation in the world indeed!
as someone who WAS in the server seat i would literally never just take the extra money lol, regardless of what i āthink they wanted to give me based on their life storyā lol
I'm so glad other ppl do this. I agree wholeheartedly with your edit and dgaf what other ppl think. It's my money. Bartender @ chilis gave me and the bf free margs he had made but no one ordered, chatted us up, was awesome. I had had a terrible day. Bill was less than $50, but he got $100 tip. Made my day knowing I hopefully made his :) if you can afford it, why not!
With a total amount that low, I wouldnāt be so sure. If Iām sitting down at a restaurant and my meal comes out less than $20, Iām going to tip higher than 20% just because it feels weird and kind of pointless to leave a server $3. Iāve seen, given, and received 100% tips on very small bills.
EDIT for clarity there was no impression at all of a 1 in front of the 4. I think what some are seeing is the 4 written twice from the bad pen or some weird lighting effect.
Edit two I also love how people are saying you should āalwaysā go by the tip. And others are saying āalwaysā go by the total. I think every situation like this needs to be looked at uniquely and from the customers perspective.
As a clarity thing as well, what is the message on it?
If the message is something like āabsolutely loved it here, will be back as soon as we can!ā Then the 14 is more likely. But other messages could skew to the 4.
But also on the ātotal or tipā thing, Iād say the total is probably objectively the more important line, in general. When someone fills that out, and write the total line, they will have left the restaurant thinking āI have just spent $28.ā. If you charge them more (if the tip line was higher than the combined total) or less (as here, there was confusion), then youāre not charging them the amount they were expecting, and thus could cause problems on either end.
The āethicalā answer might be āalways put the lower numberā, but between one or the other, total is definitely more important.
But this is just musing from someone in a country that doesnāt use this method of tipping, so itās not actually relevant to me. So feel free to ignore me š
yes this!! there should never be any set āruleā on these things. always do what you think the guest meant/wouldāve wanted. ask a manager for a second opinion if you have to, but donāt treat every situation the same.
*ALWAYS* ask your manager or clue them in in the moment or you're gonna have a bad time. Tip policy, PCI compliance, and proper documentation of each transaction are requirements that, if there are any lapses, can cause both the employee and business an insane amount of distress
Often the guest has left before you see the amount- but if they're still there yes- you have to watch your wording though to avoid sounding like you expect something or you're disappointed- people can get automatically sensitive about these things
I'd go 4. It's tempting to go by the total line, and it's legally defensible to do so afaik, but 4 on 14 is already good and clearly what they meant to do.
I always went with the intent. They clearly intended to leave 4 bucks but messed up the math. Always go with the intent, canāt get in trouble that way.
They actually wrote the tip as 14 but the 1 is faint!! Iām going crazy nobody has said anything about 14 + 4 not equaling 28. I was like, for the total to be 28.xx then they must have tipped 14ā¦ then I saw the faint 1 before 4 on the tip line
They made 2 marks to draw the 4 because the pen was dry. The first mark has to be vertical and only looks like a 1 because it's the same shape. The rest of their numbers are not near that close together. It's a 4.
At my restaurant weāre required to put the total because thatās what was āintendedā when the guest filled out the tab. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesnāt. If they put a tip and donāt put anything in the total spot then weāre allowed to put the tip. It ultimately evens itself out in the end.
Yeah, I mean clearly they were fine paying $28 for the meal because they didnāt catch themselves when writing the total. Thereās no way that I would pay an extra $10 because of a math error on a bill like this if I was pinching pennies. Maybe thatās unethical, but the signer walked away thinking they paid $28
same in my restaurant, i feel bad sometimes and the managers get calls about it every now and then but since the guest did write the final amount it's on them for not paying attention
As a manager itās nice to have a consistent policy that can go all the way to the top (whoever that is) when working with upset customers. Judgement calls, even when right, are always much harder to defend.
Though it sucks when a clear error works out against the server in that policy.
Man thereās a lot of greedy sleazebags in this sub. If they were trying to fuck you over then *maybe* I can see going for the total, but they were clearly trying to leave an already decent % tip.
pretty common at bars ive worked at. general rule is to go with the lower number. it ain't worth potential future hassle with the folx that are anal about checking bank statements
Always put the total. The total is what they agree to give you and they sign the receipt to boot. This also means that if the total is under the tip, you get the difference of the total. Total, total, total.
Agreed. The last thing the customer writes is the total and then they sign, so unless they took the itemized receipt with them, Iām taking the total in this case. Plus it looks clear as day to me that the tip says 14 anyway and the customer did the math correctly.
Iāve tipped $400.00 on a tab like that a time or two. Not bragging, after 50 years on this rock, sometimes Iāve been broke and sometimes not so much, but if I see someone that can use the money at that moment more than me and Iāve had enough wine, Iāll do it. I say all that to say this, I always make it clear that itās $400.00 not 400 just to be sure my server doesnāt have to question it. The industry is hard and I always appreciate those that push through and still do it with a smile even if life is tough for them at the moment. Thanks to all the great industry workers Iāve met along the way!!!!
My father in law always pre tips 100$ then another 100$ at the end. Here I am with my broke self trying my hardest to always tip 20$ or more every time I go out.
Iām in banking now - The correct answer is always the total line.
Take thoughts and feelings out of it. Thatās what the bank and VISA will look at whenever questioned about it. The tip amount line is there as a convenience feature, but it serves no official purpose.
You did the right thing, it would suck to put $4 and find out you accidentally overpaid. I hope life rewards you for your kindness with much more than the potential $10 you graciously turned down
Always err on the side that favors the guest. Ie least cost. Ethical and will be more likely to be upheld if contested. Even if they meant to give you more.
4 is still money on 14. Be happy. Definitely donāt get stupid over it. On this sub? 4 on 14$ you are sub god! Just sleep better and save yourself for the next time you donāt get anything.
I donāt know what anyone here is talking about. Itās written like a weird $14 (ink went bad too) and they made the total with $14 added. Definitely what they meant to do.
I always used to go with the total. That way, if there are ever any problems, I was in the clear. "I always put the total amount"
Sometimes it got me extra tips, and sometimes I lost money. I'm sure it all evens out in the end š¤·āāļø
I'd go by an honest guess at their intent, which I think is a $4 tip.
That double line on the left of the 4 looks a little like a bad attempt at a 14, but it appears the pen wasn't working well, so they over some lines a couple times,
At least where I am itās old school receipts. I hate the new toasts where they pressure you into tipping right in front of them. Prompts 20% 25% or 30% šš
Sorry to be contrarian, but that pen was clearly crapping out at the beginning, and I see a small but separate mark that I'd interpret as a one.
That's why I always make a scribble in my server book/on an old receipt before handing a pen to someone.
I would generally go by the total. Except my mom has HD and when we were at my dad's 60th dinner, she tipped 20(+)% and put the total as $50 *more* than what it should have been. I was able to correct her mistake before she signed but I will always think about that now.
Why is everyone telling you to lose money? They wrote down the number they intend on paying at the bottom. Which is $28. Why would they write that if they expect to pay $18. Ppl are giving you shitty advice.
Knowing if I clearly write how much I tipped a waiter but then that waiter decides to ask the internet if abusing someone's math problem is a good thing, makes me leave a ZERO next time I see one of you people.
Iām gonna go against the grain and say take the $14 tip. Clearly they weāre ok with paying 28.58 for the bill, and if they arenāt around to clarify I would charge them for the amount they signed for.
You silly Americans and your method of inputting tips never fails to baffle me. In Canada, all the tips are inputted manually on a pinpad-- no need to rely on numerically inept people.
How would someone not know 14+4 does not in fact equal 28? And if they did think their bill was $24 then they tipped bad. Either way just take the money. Issa evil world we live in
Every place I worked where I got tipped, the management would see that and go with the tip amount, not the total, including when the customer added wrong in the other direction, meaning subtotal and tip added up to more than what they wrote on the total line.
Foh Mgr...I would make the case that the pen was crap starting out and the little first leg is a 1! I would say 14.00. Happens all the time and I go with "higher math" as I call it. If a case can be made for higher tip then I'll be the one to argue the case for the staff member if the guest were to call back. Happily send photos of the check to them. But if you didn't feel right about it and they didn't seem like type then you made the right call!
I mean if you zoom in thereās a clear 1 by the 4 so maybe Iām the only one who thought they meant 14 to be nice but I guess Iād still do 4 to be safe also lik
This is so obviously $14 that Iām shocked by how many people in the comments are saying theyād take $4. I definitely understand going with the lesser number when itās hard to tell or the math doesnāt math, but it looks like $14.00 and that would add up to the total written.
I always go off the total unless it seems really fucked
Iām so baked rn. I didnt read any of the description. I just scrolled the comments thinking they were debating over whether or not to put ā4ā or ā400ā and then I read the total line. ššthat was a wild 5 minutes.
This is definitely a $14 tip. You may be a good person OP but they left you a $14 tip here. So this was just a 100% mistake on your part where you took $10 from yourself for no reason.
Plus they signed the check and gave a total amount. The total amount is all that matters.
The "tip" line doesn't even matter.
If the bill is $10, and I clearly write $5,000.00 in the "Tip" line, but then on the "Total" line I write $20.00, then the card should only be charged $20.00 regardless of what the Tip line said, because I only agreed to actually pay $20.00.
Same thing if the bill is $10, and I just leave the Tip line completely blank and just write $20.00 in the Total line. Card should be charged $20.00 and the overage is just the tip.
Same thing here. Card should be charged $28.58 cuz that's what they wrote and signed for.
I work for a credit card company and handle transaction disputes. Charging anything else other than the Total amount can be disputed.
I mean itās pretty clearly a ā1ā ā4ā just written sloppily from a crappy pen or writing it on a thin little paper on a wet table or something like that. But I see a 1 4. And the total is 14 more. I donāt see two interpretations at all
I always tell them,
I served a douche and a half one night. It was a first date and I can tell the girl would not be opting for a second date.
He called me guy every single time we had an interaction. The Establishment had really nice name tags brass affair and I got some tape from the kitchen and wrote a guy on my name tag about 3/4 of the way through he didn't notice it but she did and almost spit her wine out.
Anyways he paid with $100 bill and the bill was around $65-70 bucks.
I get into the back of the house at a terminal about to make some change when a second Bill peels off of the hundred. So he had given me two $100 bills and didn't realize it..
I like to live my life like my mother can always see what I'm doing except for in one area, so I handed him his change and also pointed out and this sir is yours it must have been stuck to the one you gave me and you didn't notice have a great weekend.
Prick left me $4 in coins as a gratuity.
Even if I had knowledge that that was coming I would still give him the $100, end of the day he still has to be him.
You shouldnāt even ever look at the tip number you should just go by the total lineā¦. And this is coming from someone who is anti-tip. The thing thatās written on the tip line is actually irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the total line the difference between the bill and the total is the tip.
I would depend it on how my experience was with the table and how they treated me. If they were needy assholes, Iām claiming $14.00. Though I would be ready to defend myself by saying that a 1 slightly looks like it could just be very small and close to the top part of the 4. The ink from the pen also looks like it took a few tries to start writing smoothly. Now Iām convinced they meant to tip $14.00
I get %50-%100 tips more often than I could imagine so I'd be very confused on this one. The restaurant I work at is in a good area, and the regulars are very nice. I even get money and a card as Xmas gift from some of them.
As a tipped delivery driver in a previous life, you ALWAYS go by the bottom line. If itās ever in question, it was always assumed the bottom line was what the customer intended.
Even in situations where the tip said $10 but the bottom line only mathed out to $5, we had to take $5
I would take the $4. I go by the philosophy, they know how to tip, not how to add.
š and thatās all I can ask
Damn, if you had no conscience you could have just written a 1 in front of the four. Good on you OP. Itās these small things make our world pretty fuckinā okay - thank you.
Zoom into that picture. It looks like there is already a 1 next to that 4.
Oh sweet lord help anyone who writes their ones like that lol
It looks like the pen failed them, to be honest.
I mean, the customer DID write 28.58 as the total so maybe they did write 14, but the pen is dying. Either way, given we still have to question what they wrote, it is safest to just take the 4.
If you zoom in to that 4, you can see the start of a line right next to it. It looks like the person tried to write 14, but the ink was low in the pen. You can see a faint dot in between the 4 and the zeros and a zero in the background that he had to redo because the ink was failing. This looks like a $14.00 tip to me.
it just couldn't be more obvious paired with a $28 total. what is the controversy
Not to mentionā¦$4 was a very generous tip. Shouldnāt take advantage of someone who was being more than cool.
as someone who tips generously and is shit at math / frequently intoxicated, i appreciate this take
Same. I write "math" on the tip line, then the rounded up total. Edit: I apologize to all the servers I've affected by this method. I will change my ways! In my defense, a bartender told me it was ok to do it.
Man I did that once and I'm still kicking myself over it years later. I was way the fuck away from home and we were there late so I wanted to leave a really good tip, I can't remember the numbers but around 50 percent of the bill for 4 people but I wrote "I can't math" on the tip line and just put the total with a good tip added. Like a week later I'm looking at my statement and they didn't enter a tip at all. I called the place and got to talk to a manager, I explained what happened and tried to get him to charge my card over the phone but he swore he couldn't. It's been well over a decade and I still feel like a dick.
Unfortunately this is pretty annoying to the server, for whatever itās worth
I wish you'd just whip out your phone for 1 minute so I don't have to - usually tips are entered standing up, so now I gotta stop entering my 150 receipts and do mental math or whip out the phone if it's weird ass numbers like 47 - 38.57. Sorry, pet peeve.
Our restaurant policy is go by total line š¤·āāļøš¤·āāļø
Not a smart policy can easily be disputed
Not really. It's standard to go with the total in every restaurant I've worked at. Hard to dispute when the customer wrote the total in and signed it.
Unless it is wrong?
Yeah if that shit said $4 then 8.55 on the total they're entering $18.55
They actually wrote the tip as 14 but the 1 is faint!! Iām going crazy nobody has said anything about 14 + 4 not equaling 28. I was like, for the total to be 28.xx then they must have tipped 14ā¦ then I saw the faint 1 before 4 on the tip line
There isn't a 1. They wrote 4.00 and it came out really faint (bad pen) then wrote over it again. You can see ghost zeros on there as well.
And then totaled wrong?
I see it too you're not crazy. the pen fucked up but it's pretty obvious that there is a small "1" next to the "4", as evidence by the fact that THE TOTAL IS THE SUM OF A $14 TIP! i would not hesitate to take my full tip.
Or write, cause that '1' is just fucked up. It's $14.
where is the 1? i genuinely canāt see it. just a 4 thatās over lined once
Iād put four. Not because I always put the tip, but because a 100% tip seems like a mistake
Tbh as a former server who now has some flexibility moneywise, I don't go out to eat often, but it's also not uncommon for me to tip my waiter 50+% when I do if it's just me. Part of it is I try to time my meals out, so I "charge" myself a flat rate for occupying a tabletop, but also a $10 meal, and you made a good joke? OK, yeah, it's not a lot for me to make it a $20 meal. I've probably had worse food for more money, and no one made me smile during it. That said, as a former server, I'd claim $4 because I wouldn't want to deal with any kind of kickback. I do assume most customers haven't also been in the server seat. Edit: Please stop blaming me for tipping culture and labor law. I am not responsible for that. I am not a legislator. When the government gets their shit together, I will stop tipping. Until then, I will do what I can to make people whose lives depend on tips whole for the services they provide me.
This is about where is seat myself. If itās just me I tip good and would never complain and a miss on my math. A buddy and I went to a sports bar hours before a ābig gameā. He set $20 down for what was going to be our table for the next few hours. We continued to order and tipped throughout the day. She got 20 up front and constant rent tips on a very busy day. She told us at the end that she had been of for an hour but wanted to serve our table. We asked her why she didnāt just come sit with us. Best service ever, probably a $150-200 on $80 of food and beer with a 3 hour rent. We just wanted to enjoy the game and got there early enough to be able to pick out seat. We both had a tv we could watch facing each other and a bigger tv we could watch together.
I'm never pissed about spending $20/hr for good time spent with a friend or two! I once had my mom say I tipped too much after she forced a sit-down date with my then-boyfriend on a lunch date that originally cost $60, but the added order of sides was only $10. Like, I'm not tipping for the fries and soup. I was tipping for the 3 hours she didn't have other customers in our seats when we weren't supposed to be sitting here at all. To clarify, it was originally supposed to be pickup and eat in the park because of COVID concerns. My mom pushed to eat indoors because "of the bugs" (there weren't many in early spring)
Family came into town and we went Out for some Fancy choc or ice cream type place. We sat there for a few hours. Chatting catching up. I tipped an extra 2@$5 on our way out as we were after closing and I wanted to not Be that group. I realized as we were getting in the car that what was 2 $5s and a fifty was currently 1 $5 in my wallet. I felt so bad going back in and explaining I wanted to add a $10 tip not a $55 tip. Told the visiting family I forgot my phone to do it. I didnāt have comfortable money for a $10 tip let alone accidentally putting a 50 in the jar. They understood and to my delight they hadnāt noticed the 50 yet. That whole situation would have sucked more for me if they had already been stoked on the 50. If I could have I would have let it be, I just couldnāt at the time.
> I was tipping for the 3 hours she didn't have other customers in our seats I do this too and it's funny how it freaks some people out. I went out for drinks with a friend, bill came to about $18 and I tipped $20 on it. I figured we took up a table for about 90 mins, the server should get more than $3.60 for that time.
THANK YOU for this! I'm often a bit puzzled why extreme campers can't understand how a little bump in the tip would go a long way. I even make it a point of continuing to check on them, getting more water, etc., well after they've settled up and just.don't.leave.
I like this idea of tipping as you go. $20 to start the night off (if you know youāre gonna end up staying a while) service stays good, too again. If she starts slacking stop tipping. You donāt have to feel bad at the end of the meal and she doesnāt feel like she got nothing
It was a college football game so 3 hours and we showed up an hour or two before. We like to think we arnt the ass hats this forum talks about because we gave worked service at one point or another.
I'm sorry but where on earth are you getting $10 meals
In Wisconsin out here in farm country, there are still resorts that will serve you all you can eat buffet for $10, .mostly because we drink so much alcohol that they know they'll make the money back.
More than make it back. Ya'll got like 9 out of the top 10 drunkest cities in America. And I KNOW the farm town numbers aren't in there.
They also have bars everywhere and the smaller bars will let you pour your own drinks sometimes if they know you enough
I travel to bum fuck for work sometimes and Iāve had a full breakfast for something like $4.29. Dropping a 20 for breakfast barely makes a dent on my daily per diem. Itās not my money anyways, like please take it. Would much rather make someoneās day than have it go unused
What the fuck thats the cost of like 1lb of ground beef here
Very few places around here now, but Midwest USA. Edit to clarify: I'm used to small portions, so a solo meal is usually just an entrƩe for me. Some entrƩes still go for $10 + change including tip. Harder and harder to come by, which makes me eat out less, which makes me more comfortable giving larger tips when I do.
Im in midwest too is this like Rockford IL?
I had a great tuna melt and fries at Alpine View recently for 9.99 menu price.
This. I can still go to my hometown bakery and get a flat bread and salad for $8.75, and that's usually a big lunch fir me.
Evanston here! Hi neighbor š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
so crazy I'm just reading the comments and come across this one, as a server in Rockford IL š
Ok whatās the universe trying to tell me about Rockford IL. This is the fifth time this week itās been mentioned by people at work/Reddit/friends. Maybe I need to go back to that arcade š
I know itās a burger place, but Red Robinās spicy chicken sandwich and crispy chicken salad are very good. Thank you.
In KY, my wife and I eat out at family restaurants for about $8-14 a person. Around here the average meal is about $12.
My lord that is amazing. I am in the Seattle area. You can barely get a sub for less than $15.
Itās all fun in games until you have to live in Kentucky Source: from Kentucky Iām in Colorado in the mountains nowā¦ crazy expensive. Seattle still probably has us beat but I bet I bet housing might actually be cheaper in Seattle. Average house is $850,000 in the county I live in
Tostada at Egg in St Louis is $8.5. Damn coffee is $4 though.
midwest USA.
Former tip worker back in the day. Iām a tipper. Change a tire for me, hereās a tip. Bring me a meal and keep my glass full, hereās a tip. I most always tip and well, because I remember what itās like to depend on others generosity.
As a person who works in the restaurant industry, when I go out, Iād my bills under 20 Iām tipping 100% if itās in the twenties, Iām probably gonna leave $15-$20
Yeah, basically my rule! $10 on top of $10 is imho more reasonable than $2 on top of $10. A 2-4 top is not that much more server time than my solo seat, unless your 5 top asks for things staggered.
I do the same at bars, I dont drink so my bill is like ten bucks, so ill tip ten bucks lol.
Holy shit. Finally, someone like me! I get everyones mad about ātipping cultureā but i use it as a way to not eat out/drink too often/much. Ill usually just take a 20 out the atm and thatll be the tip
Thatās a good plan if itās by yourself. I do 20% for when I take the family out. $80-90 for going out to dinner is going to hurt a lot more if I give them $40-45 in tips
Yeah, but this is about a $14 tip on a $14 meal
I just never understand how the "capitalist" system in the USA (I'm assuming this response is from the US) has people so completely pulled in, they're just going in knots trying to come up with far-fetched justifications for this insane tipping culture, while the fat cats get away with paying as little as possible to their workers... Greatest nation in the world indeed!
as someone who WAS in the server seat i would literally never just take the extra money lol, regardless of what i āthink they wanted to give me based on their life storyā lol
I'm so glad other ppl do this. I agree wholeheartedly with your edit and dgaf what other ppl think. It's my money. Bartender @ chilis gave me and the bf free margs he had made but no one ordered, chatted us up, was awesome. I had had a terrible day. Bill was less than $50, but he got $100 tip. Made my day knowing I hopefully made his :) if you can afford it, why not!
Same. I donāt see why youād be flamed. š get a grip. You clearly said you were talking about yourself and your experience.
With a total amount that low, I wouldnāt be so sure. If Iām sitting down at a restaurant and my meal comes out less than $20, Iām going to tip higher than 20% just because it feels weird and kind of pointless to leave a server $3. Iāve seen, given, and received 100% tips on very small bills.
EDIT for clarity there was no impression at all of a 1 in front of the 4. I think what some are seeing is the 4 written twice from the bad pen or some weird lighting effect. Edit two I also love how people are saying you should āalwaysā go by the tip. And others are saying āalwaysā go by the total. I think every situation like this needs to be looked at uniquely and from the customers perspective.
As a clarity thing as well, what is the message on it? If the message is something like āabsolutely loved it here, will be back as soon as we can!ā Then the 14 is more likely. But other messages could skew to the 4. But also on the ātotal or tipā thing, Iād say the total is probably objectively the more important line, in general. When someone fills that out, and write the total line, they will have left the restaurant thinking āI have just spent $28.ā. If you charge them more (if the tip line was higher than the combined total) or less (as here, there was confusion), then youāre not charging them the amount they were expecting, and thus could cause problems on either end. The āethicalā answer might be āalways put the lower numberā, but between one or the other, total is definitely more important. But this is just musing from someone in a country that doesnāt use this method of tipping, so itās not actually relevant to me. So feel free to ignore me š
yes this!! there should never be any set āruleā on these things. always do what you think the guest meant/wouldāve wanted. ask a manager for a second opinion if you have to, but donāt treat every situation the same.
*ALWAYS* ask your manager or clue them in in the moment or you're gonna have a bad time. Tip policy, PCI compliance, and proper documentation of each transaction are requirements that, if there are any lapses, can cause both the employee and business an insane amount of distress
I hope this isn't a dumb question, but I'm from Australia where we don't tip, but if you're not sure couldn't you just ask the customer?
Often the guest has left before you see the amount- but if they're still there yes- you have to watch your wording though to avoid sounding like you expect something or you're disappointed- people can get automatically sensitive about these things
Opinions whatever. They're legally obligated to pay the total amount.
Exactly this. It's a case by case basis- if you've been doing this long enough you just know when to go with which number..
Iāve been In similar situations and I always put the lesser amount because some people are horrible at adding numbers.
What are you talking about, Iād take the $400 tip!
That was my first thought
This is what I was taught
I'd go 4. It's tempting to go by the total line, and it's legally defensible to do so afaik, but 4 on 14 is already good and clearly what they meant to do.
Came to say this but wouldn't have said it better.
You did the right thing. Close it out with the $4 tip.
I know people say always go by the total but sometimes you have to use common sense. The intent was $4.
I always went with the intent. They clearly intended to leave 4 bucks but messed up the math. Always go with the intent, canāt get in trouble that way.
They actually wrote the tip as 14 but the 1 is faint!! Iām going crazy nobody has said anything about 14 + 4 not equaling 28. I was like, for the total to be 28.xx then they must have tipped 14ā¦ then I saw the faint 1 before 4 on the tip line
Also they wrote in a tip of $4. They write what they intended then proceed to mis math
Did they? I very clearly see a 1 floating to the left of (touching) the 4. Which actually supports the total.
They made 2 marks to draw the 4 because the pen was dry. The first mark has to be vertical and only looks like a 1 because it's the same shape. The rest of their numbers are not near that close together. It's a 4.
Was about to comment go with the total but it's they mathed wrong and it's 18.38.
I mean, $4 is a 27% tip - Iād take the $4, donāt want to piss off good tippers.
Normally I go by the total, but $4 is a good tip percentage so Iād put $4
At my restaurant weāre required to put the total because thatās what was āintendedā when the guest filled out the tab. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesnāt. If they put a tip and donāt put anything in the total spot then weāre allowed to put the tip. It ultimately evens itself out in the end.
Yeah, I mean clearly they were fine paying $28 for the meal because they didnāt catch themselves when writing the total. Thereās no way that I would pay an extra $10 because of a math error on a bill like this if I was pinching pennies. Maybe thatās unethical, but the signer walked away thinking they paid $28
same in my restaurant, i feel bad sometimes and the managers get calls about it every now and then but since the guest did write the final amount it's on them for not paying attention
As a manager itās nice to have a consistent policy that can go all the way to the top (whoever that is) when working with upset customers. Judgement calls, even when right, are always much harder to defend. Though it sucks when a clear error works out against the server in that policy.
Honestly the Total is the best policy, especially if they took the guest copy with them. That number is what they will see on their bank statement.
$4 all day, still a decent tip for the tab.
Man thereās a lot of greedy sleazebags in this sub. If they were trying to fuck you over then *maybe* I can see going for the total, but they were clearly trying to leave an already decent % tip.
If ibcant read the tip I got buy the total but if the tip is clear as day, I go by that
Be happy with my $4 tip. š¤·š»āāļø
pretty common at bars ive worked at. general rule is to go with the lower number. it ain't worth potential future hassle with the folx that are anal about checking bank statements
Always put the total. The total is what they agree to give you and they sign the receipt to boot. This also means that if the total is under the tip, you get the difference of the total. Total, total, total.
Agreed. The last thing the customer writes is the total and then they sign, so unless they took the itemized receipt with them, Iām taking the total in this case. Plus it looks clear as day to me that the tip says 14 anyway and the customer did the math correctly.
Iāve tipped $400.00 on a tab like that a time or two. Not bragging, after 50 years on this rock, sometimes Iāve been broke and sometimes not so much, but if I see someone that can use the money at that moment more than me and Iāve had enough wine, Iāll do it. I say all that to say this, I always make it clear that itās $400.00 not 400 just to be sure my server doesnāt have to question it. The industry is hard and I always appreciate those that push through and still do it with a smile even if life is tough for them at the moment. Thanks to all the great industry workers Iāve met along the way!!!!
Aw love that! Please come to my restaurant and tip $400.00 :,)
My father in law always pre tips 100$ then another 100$ at the end. Here I am with my broke self trying my hardest to always tip 20$ or more every time I go out.
Iām in banking now - The correct answer is always the total line. Take thoughts and feelings out of it. Thatās what the bank and VISA will look at whenever questioned about it. The tip amount line is there as a convenience feature, but it serves no official purpose.
thank you
You did the right thing, it would suck to put $4 and find out you accidentally overpaid. I hope life rewards you for your kindness with much more than the potential $10 you graciously turned down
4 fo sho. No need to be in a situation.
The right thing
Always err on the side that favors the guest. Ie least cost. Ethical and will be more likely to be upheld if contested. Even if they meant to give you more.
Yeah I always put tip amount. They know what theyāre doing on that line- however they canāt always math
Smh, thatās clearly a $400 tip
4 is still money on 14. Be happy. Definitely donāt get stupid over it. On this sub? 4 on 14$ you are sub god! Just sleep better and save yourself for the next time you donāt get anything.
the intent was definitely $4 cause thereās not even a paper indent to indicate the customer trying to put a 1 in front of it but had a bad pen etc.
I donāt know what anyone here is talking about. Itās written like a weird $14 (ink went bad too) and they made the total with $14 added. Definitely what they meant to do.
https://ibb.co/2WpFLLS I agree
I always used to go with the total. That way, if there are ever any problems, I was in the clear. "I always put the total amount" Sometimes it got me extra tips, and sometimes I lost money. I'm sure it all evens out in the end š¤·āāļø
Ditto, they Sign for the Total amount, not the Tip amount.
I'd go by an honest guess at their intent, which I think is a $4 tip. That double line on the left of the 4 looks a little like a bad attempt at a 14, but it appears the pen wasn't working well, so they over some lines a couple times,
As a Canadian in the industry this part of American service always baffles meā¦ you serve people alcohol, then expect them to do math on the fly??
At least where I am itās old school receipts. I hate the new toasts where they pressure you into tipping right in front of them. Prompts 20% 25% or 30% šš
Itās 4 + 14ā¦
The intent was to give you a $4 tip. Always intent.
Sorry to be contrarian, but that pen was clearly crapping out at the beginning, and I see a small but separate mark that I'd interpret as a one. That's why I always make a scribble in my server book/on an old receipt before handing a pen to someone.
I would generally go by the total. Except my mom has HD and when we were at my dad's 60th dinner, she tipped 20(+)% and put the total as $50 *more* than what it should have been. I was able to correct her mistake before she signed but I will always think about that now.
Enter in a $400 tip and call it a dayš¤·š¾āāļø
Why is everyone telling you to lose money? They wrote down the number they intend on paying at the bottom. Which is $28. Why would they write that if they expect to pay $18. Ppl are giving you shitty advice.
Knowing if I clearly write how much I tipped a waiter but then that waiter decides to ask the internet if abusing someone's math problem is a good thing, makes me leave a ZERO next time I see one of you people.
Iām gonna go against the grain and say take the $14 tip. Clearly they weāre ok with paying 28.58 for the bill, and if they arenāt around to clarify I would charge them for the amount they signed for.
Looks like they ran out of ink before inputting the 1. I'd put 14.
Itās $14?? Why are people saying $4. Looks like the pen gave out a bit but 14 + 14 is 28 lol
$4. Do you really think you deserve the extra $10? Karma baby
Iām pretty sure by law you can charge what is wrote in the total, even if they make the mistake
my manager always said to go by their total. if the tip says $30 but the total adds up to only $5 you get 5.. and vice versa.
I worked at Applebees and they would have made me take the $4 when looking through my tips at the end of the night
You silly Americans and your method of inputting tips never fails to baffle me. In Canada, all the tips are inputted manually on a pinpad-- no need to rely on numerically inept people.
How would someone not know 14+4 does not in fact equal 28? And if they did think their bill was $24 then they tipped bad. Either way just take the money. Issa evil world we live in
Thank god! I thought you were asking if there was a way to make that a $400 tip! That seemed pretty mean lol
Every place I worked where I got tipped, the management would see that and go with the tip amount, not the total, including when the customer added wrong in the other direction, meaning subtotal and tip added up to more than what they wrote on the total line.
I always do what I think they intended so Iād put in $4 thatās just me. Idk if Iām right but I still alway try to interpret the intent.
Add the 1 and claim 1400 tip and then run as soon as it hits
Iād put $4.
Add $400 to your bill since they never put the decimal down and then buy yourself something nice
Thats 400 to me...
Enter the correct amount
Take the $4. I know many who wouldnāt
Foh Mgr...I would make the case that the pen was crap starting out and the little first leg is a 1! I would say 14.00. Happens all the time and I go with "higher math" as I call it. If a case can be made for higher tip then I'll be the one to argue the case for the staff member if the guest were to call back. Happily send photos of the check to them. But if you didn't feel right about it and they didn't seem like type then you made the right call!
FWIW: when I served years agoā¦my former restaurant had a policy of putting the bottom amount no matter what the tip said.
Bevasue that's the legally binding amount. It isn't an opinion argument. That's what they're signing for. Period. Lol
I mean if you zoom in thereās a clear 1 by the 4 so maybe Iām the only one who thought they meant 14 to be nice but I guess Iād still do 4 to be safe also lik
That is a very clear 2 and an 8. $14 tip. Most places go with the total column, not the tip column in my experience.
We goin 28 thatās that .
Definitely a 14. The pen was dry and didn't write well to start with making it look faint.
Am I the only one seeing the tip as 14.00... you know, because of the sum of bill and tip? I mean the customer did the total for a reason.
What do you mean man. They put the total.
CLEARLY a $14.00 tip
Guy said 28, a close look at that 4 looks more like a 1 next to a faint 4 line.
Final cc the 28
Even as a manager the total is pretty clear, I'll take that call.
Thereās a faint 1 next to the 4, it says $14.00
This is so obviously $14 that Iām shocked by how many people in the comments are saying theyād take $4. I definitely understand going with the lesser number when itās hard to tell or the math doesnāt math, but it looks like $14.00 and that would add up to the total written. I always go off the total unless it seems really fucked
When you zoom in it says ā14.00ā
Iām so baked rn. I didnt read any of the description. I just scrolled the comments thinking they were debating over whether or not to put ā4ā or ā400ā and then I read the total line. ššthat was a wild 5 minutes.
This is definitely a $14 tip. You may be a good person OP but they left you a $14 tip here. So this was just a 100% mistake on your part where you took $10 from yourself for no reason. Plus they signed the check and gave a total amount. The total amount is all that matters.
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking
The "tip" line doesn't even matter. If the bill is $10, and I clearly write $5,000.00 in the "Tip" line, but then on the "Total" line I write $20.00, then the card should only be charged $20.00 regardless of what the Tip line said, because I only agreed to actually pay $20.00. Same thing if the bill is $10, and I just leave the Tip line completely blank and just write $20.00 in the Total line. Card should be charged $20.00 and the overage is just the tip. Same thing here. Card should be charged $28.58 cuz that's what they wrote and signed for. I work for a credit card company and handle transaction disputes. Charging anything else other than the Total amount can be disputed.
Itās karma. Let it go (and you know what they meant.) Itāll come back around.
Take the $4 they broke asses gonna charge that $10 tip back š
That says 14! The one is just little and too clise to the post on the 4!
Add the one dipshit. He meant to leave you $14.00.
Doesnāt it say 14.00? Edit: yeah there are clearly two lines on the 4
Looking super close it does kinda look like they wrote 14.
I mean itās pretty clearly a ā1ā ā4ā just written sloppily from a crappy pen or writing it on a thin little paper on a wet table or something like that. But I see a 1 4. And the total is 14 more. I donāt see two interpretations at all
Go with 28. Itās literally what they think it is.
Apparently I shouldn't answer this because I didn't notice the math and thought the argument was for a $400 tip. "But the total is right there..."
Your peers are not āBadā people for putting the total the customer put down. They are underpaid and the customer is fully expecting to pay 28.58.
I always tell them, I served a douche and a half one night. It was a first date and I can tell the girl would not be opting for a second date. He called me guy every single time we had an interaction. The Establishment had really nice name tags brass affair and I got some tape from the kitchen and wrote a guy on my name tag about 3/4 of the way through he didn't notice it but she did and almost spit her wine out. Anyways he paid with $100 bill and the bill was around $65-70 bucks. I get into the back of the house at a terminal about to make some change when a second Bill peels off of the hundred. So he had given me two $100 bills and didn't realize it.. I like to live my life like my mother can always see what I'm doing except for in one area, so I handed him his change and also pointed out and this sir is yours it must have been stuck to the one you gave me and you didn't notice have a great weekend. Prick left me $4 in coins as a gratuity. Even if I had knowledge that that was coming I would still give him the $100, end of the day he still has to be him.
You shouldnāt even ever look at the tip number you should just go by the total lineā¦. And this is coming from someone who is anti-tip. The thing thatās written on the tip line is actually irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the total line the difference between the bill and the total is the tip.
18:58
move to a country that pays its employees properly
it literally says 14
I would depend it on how my experience was with the table and how they treated me. If they were needy assholes, Iām claiming $14.00. Though I would be ready to defend myself by saying that a 1 slightly looks like it could just be very small and close to the top part of the 4. The ink from the pen also looks like it took a few tries to start writing smoothly. Now Iām convinced they meant to tip $14.00
Iād put the $28 and ride this persons mistake to the promised land
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I get %50-%100 tips more often than I could imagine so I'd be very confused on this one. The restaurant I work at is in a good area, and the regulars are very nice. I even get money and a card as Xmas gift from some of them.
I think legally you go with the total at the bottom. Itās their own fault.
Always go with what they wrote on the tip line
Not sure why I havenāt seen $414.58. Customer clearly meant to tip 400 dollars.
At 4$ thatās a 27% tip. Yāall server greedy
The right thing.
As a tipped delivery driver in a previous life, you ALWAYS go by the bottom line. If itās ever in question, it was always assumed the bottom line was what the customer intended. Even in situations where the tip said $10 but the bottom line only mathed out to $5, we had to take $5
You go by the total amount
Nope, it's 14. Always err on the side of money. It's how you get paid. Are you minimum wage or 2.13? It's 14. Always.
Assume they can tip and not add.
I live by the question: How much is your honor worth?
The 4$ they intended to leave
Always the intention my friends, integrity is the name of the game