Restaurant = Credit card = Tip issue??

Question

I ate at a restaurant last week called Senior Fresh - (I've eaten there 3 times and each time I've gotten the same thing)... Anyway, I ate there on Friday and use my credit/debit card. The total I signed for was 9.40 - and I didn't leave a tip. It's not the type of place that you WOULD leave a tip - They give you your food, you dispense your own drink and they're done with you. Anyway, I checked my account online today and it seems that they withdrew 15.40 rather then 9.40. I've called my bank and they said I needed to speak to the restaurant. I called the restaurant but the manager isn't there until morning... Anyway, I think what happened is that I signed for $9.40 but then later one of the employees entered a tip amount ($6.00 tip for a $9 meal!!!????).

Has anything like this ever happened to you? If so, what did you do and what was done about it? I'm going to talk to the manager tomorrow morning but I wanted to hear what I may be in for...

They DID give me a receipt and I know the total was 9.40 - It's around my house somewhere - not sure where.

and they don't bring the food... It's like a mcdonalds for mexican food.

If it were JUST $6.00 I would suck it up - but because of this *error* my account went overdrawn - which caused an overdraft fee + the extra $5 that they charged. (I only had enough in my account to cover the $10.)

I spoke to the restaurant manager this morning and he was great! He looked at his machine and there was no tip added. He's not quite sure why it happened but he refunded my money :)

Answer 1

I work in a restaurant and I enter in a lot of credit card information, the truth is accidents happen, he could have looked at a wrong slip while inputting your info. Most employee's wouldn't try to get an extra tip, the risk is to high, I would recommend talking to the manager as soon as possible and he can fix the problem within 5 minutes.

Answer 2

Many times a credit card company will will approve more than the stated amount of a bill, assuming the customer will leave a tip. When the correct tip is charged to your account, the original amount will be adjusted. This insures the credit card company that you have the amount needed to pay for the meal. Since the server doesn't know what you will tip, he or she can't get the approval code for the total amount. Don't check your account until a few days after the transaction. If it is still too high, by all means call the restaurant and ask to speak to the book keeper.

Answer 3

Because the credit slips are ran at the end of a specific time some companies (Gas Stations and Restaurants esp.) "Hold" a larger amount then the actual bill, once the amount actually runs through your credit card company it will more than likely turn out the correct $9.40 if not, report it to your CC company and the restaurant that you were overcharged, having a receipt is nice if not specific time and date works too, they can compare CC and Till tapes to see the difference

Answer 4

The restaurant should be keeping copies of those credit card receipts. Find yours and politely tell the manager to look at his copy and that YOU did not leave any tip that day. He/She needs to know what their employees are doing. Offer to bring in your receipt to prove you did not leave a tip.

If they're a decent place, hopefully they'll reimburse you or throw a free meal at you. Or maybe both. They don't want to get sued.

Good luck!

Answer 5

i can't remeber which investigating tv program had a show on this, but it happens more often than what people think. ( usually it is 20% of the bill.) go to the manager, complain to him. if you don't get a good rsolution from him ( reimbursement of the $6.00 PLUS a free meal and/or apology/reprimanding of said employee, call or go to your local better business bureau and file a claim with them. above all i would not continue to do go there and tell your friends,family and co-workers about this problem with them. one customer can either send in 25 new customers or stop the same number from ever going in that restaurant. it's the old you tell a friend and they tell a friend and so on and so on....

Answer 6

No, it hasn't happened to me, but they do slip that in on you sometimes. I always look at my bill good to make sure there are no added tips. You need to find out if that is their policy to add that tip. For a $9.40 meal ,$6.00 bucks is way to much!!! hopefully you still have your receipt. Good Luck!

Answer 7

Yes your tips on credit cards do get taxed and withhold from your paycheck. Also you do get taxed from your state also. If you accept cash for tips then you are required by law to report that to your tax returns. If you don't report those cash tips then you better hope someone doesn't report you to the IRS for Tax Evasion. I seen a lot of waiters get Audited and get slammed with 2k+ penalty for evading their taxes on their cash tips. I do not recommend it.

Answer 8

Do you still have the receipt for the credit card charge? If so, check it to see if the amount listed on your receipt matches what the card company sent you. Sure, speak to the manager.

Answer 9

That's not cool. I would also talk with the manager to get it straightened out.
But if they bring you the food, that person is called a server and you may consider leaving a tip in the future.

Answer 10

When you signed the receipt, didn't they give you a copy? Don't tell me you threw it away!!! Take it to the restaurant with you to compare with what the manager has. Also take your bank statement showing the discrepancy.