topic Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS in Community Chat

QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Tinkrbl44 — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 01:54:57 GMT

I need your feedback on what actually happened here ....

Yesterday I took my visiting niece to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch. Our server was obviously very experienced ..... and happy to see us. During the whole lunch time, only 3 other parties came in and ate inside the restaurant. However, there was a constant stream of people coming in to pick up food they had ordered. I'm happy to report that the restaurant is doing a brisk take out business.

At the end of our meal, the server brought the check which totaled $24.95 with spaces below to fill in tip and total. You've seen them.

I added a tip of $5.05 and wrote in a total of $30.00. The server picked up the check as we said good bye, so I know he knew that I gave him a tip of $5.05.

Today, on my credit card statement, the restaurant tab deducted was $24.95. How is this possible? If they had deducted a full $30, I would assume they gave him the $5.05 ... in a computerized tally or cash from the register .... I think. Isn't that how it's usually done?

What happened here? I'm concerned the server didn't get his tip. Do you think the cashier made a mistake?

What could have happened here? I am baffled. Should I stop by the restaurant to get this straightened out?

TIA

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

misslissa30 — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:02:35 GMT

The entire bill, including the tip will show up in a few days in your bank. Whenever I eat out my bank doesn't show the entire bill until after a few days. Usually the charge is just for the meal. I don't know why my bank or anyone's does this. But they will get their tip.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gaga — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:05:12 GMT

This happens to me all the time...What happens is the food charge will show up as Pending & then when it is posted it will show the tip. I have called in in a panic to the Restaurant when this first happened & they said this is the way the Credit Card Co's do this.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

beach-mom — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:19:25 GMT

Like the others said, this is normal. The way the bank explained it to me was when you give the server your CC, that amount is run through the bank to make sure it is approved. Then the approved charge slip is brought back to you to add the tip.

My experience has been the same as @gaga's. The amount will not be posted until the tip is added. Until then it will be a pending charge.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Love my grandkids — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:21:46 GMT

Both my late DH and I and later our son and his wife have a policy of giving a tip in cash directly to the server.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

CoffeeNut — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:31:52 GMT

@Love my grandkids wrote:
Both my late DH and I and later our son and his wife have a policy of giving a tip in cash directly to the server.

That's what I do too. If you put the tip on the credit card then those wages are added to their paychecks and taxes are taken out. With cash it's immediate income and rarely taxes are taken out because they don't report it.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

tucsongal — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:35:19 GMT

I just learned this after we started going out to eat again. We have always paid cash when dining out but since the pandemic, I’ve put everything on a credit card. I was so concerned the first time it happened, I called the restaurant to make sure the server got her tip.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gertrudecloset — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 03:16:33 GMT

Perhaps in this situation the tips are pooled and waiters get a share of the pot. Maybe, that amount is run at a different time for the distribution of your waiter's share.

I do a lot online grocery shopping nowadays and I can tip beforehand, or up 24 hours after delivery. Sometimes, I don't include the tip in the transaction and hand them the cash upon delivery. The places I shop promise that $100% of my tip will go to my shopper/driver. When they run the charge, the tip amount is always separate though and never charged with the original amount or on different dates. Always separate but charged simultaneously.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

KathyM23 — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 03:23:32 GMT

I always give the cash to my server rather than placing it on a credit card. I feel some may depend on the tip money daily and many/most restaurants add it to their check at payday.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Drythe — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 03:42:26 GMT

Me - Always Cash to the server.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Teddie — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 03:50:11 GMT

Giving cash to the server is a nice idea—but the downside is that you may not have enough or the right amount of cash. I wonder how that is handled.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gertrudecloset — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:01:46 GMT

@CoffeeNut wrote:

@Love my grandkids wrote:
Both my late DH and I and later our son and his wife have a policy of giving a tip in cash directly to the server.

That's what I do too. If you put the tip on the credit card then those wages are added to their paychecks and taxes are taken out. With cash it's immediate income and rarely taxes are taken out because they don't report it.

I don't think of any of what you said is true in every instance. There's a lot to learn about tipping and how the various states follow the laws set by the U.S. Department of Labor

Credit Card Processing Fees

Q. Tips belong to the employee, but can employers ever make any deductions from an employee's tips? This issue commonly comes up with credit card processing fees. When a customer leaves a tip for an employee on a credit card, can the employer deduct the credit card processing fee from the tips?

A. Federal courts and the Department of Labor have generally held that employers may subtract a proportionate amount of the processing fee from an employee's tips, as long as the employee still receives minimum wage. For example, if the customer pays by credit card and the processing fee is 3%, the employer may pay the employee 97% of the tip left by the customer and keep 3%. However, some states have more restrictive laws. In California, for instance, employers may not deduct any portion of the credit card processing fee from the employee's tips.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gertrudecloset — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:01:12 GMT

@Teddie wrote:
Giving cash to the server is a nice idea—but the downside is that you may not have enough or the right amount of cash. I wonder how that is handled.

You should anticipate that when you know you're doing something that will require a tip. If you don't pre plan an event where you'd need to tip, then keep that in mind during your activities. If that's ordering a meal, take into consideration the cost of your meal plus the gratuity which is easily 15% of your bill.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

patbz — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:06:42 GMT

We almost always pay restaurant bills via credit card but I always tip in cash. If I don't have correct amount, I go up to cashier and ask her to break my bill into desired denominations. We tip generously but servers don't usually make a great wage and cash tips help, especially since IRS assumes they are getting around 10%, so an 18-25% tip really helps the server. For the IRS reason, even for bad service I still leave 10% ( sometimes circumstances are outside a server's control. When I was in college I was a waitress one Summer; the curse of that is that I am physically unable not to tip!

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gertrudecloset — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:11:26 GMT

@patbz wrote:
We almost always pay restaurant bills via credit card but I always tip in cash. If I don't have correct amount, I go up to cashier and ask her to break my bill into desired denominations. We tip generously but servers don't usually make a great wage and cash tips help, especially since IRS assumes they are getting around 10%, so an 18-25% tip really helps the server. For the IRS reason, even for bad service I still leave 10% ( sometimes circumstances are outside a server's control. When I was in college I was a waitress one Summer; the curse of that is that I am physically unable not to tip!

@patbzNot only that, but in some instances waiters share their tips in a pool with other service employees that might not otherwise receive a tip. Like the guy who brings the water to the table (busboy) and set you up for your meal. That's called tip pooling. It's legal and it depends on where.

I think I will be asking from now on if my waitress/waiter has to pool his/her tip.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gertrudecloset — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:13:30 GMT

Tip Pooling

Under federal law, employers can require employees to participate in a tip pool or otherwise share their tips with other employees. In a tip pool, employees have to chip in a portion of their tips, which are then divided among a group of employees. However, federal law prohibits employers from keeping any portion of the tips or from including supervisors or managers in the tip pool. This is true regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit or pays employees the full minimum wage.

For a long time, there was a debate about whether employees could be required to share their tips with employees who did not regularly receive tips. For example, some employers include all employees in a tip pool, which allows "back-of-house" staff—such as cooks or dishwashers—to receive a portion of the tips left for servers, bartenders, and other employees who interface with customers.

In March of 2018, the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended to clarify this issue. Employers that do not take a tip credit and pay employees the full minimum wage may establish a tip pool that includes back-of-house employees. However, employers that do take a tip credit must limit the tip pool to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Teddie — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:21:19 GMT

@gertrudecloset wrote:
@Teddie wrote:
Giving cash to the server is a nice idea—but the downside is that you may not have enough or the right amount of cash. I wonder how that is handled.
You should anticipate that when you know you're doing something that will require a tip. If you don't pre plan an event where you'd need to tip, then keep that in mind during your activities. If that's ordering a meal, take into consideration the cost of your meal plus the gratuity which is easily 15% of your bill.

We don’t preplan because we pay with cc and we tip more than 15%. We also usually pay for everyone around the table and it amounts to a substantial tip, which makes cash not always practical.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

gertrudecloset — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:30:32 GMT

@Teddie wrote:
@gertrudecloset wrote:
@Teddie wrote:
Giving cash to the server is a nice idea—but the downside is that you may not have enough or the right amount of cash. I wonder how that is handled.
You should anticipate that when you know you're doing something that will require a tip. If you don't pre plan an event where you'd need to tip, then keep that in mind during your activities. If that's ordering a meal, take into consideration the cost of your meal plus the gratuity which is easily 15% of your bill.
We don’t preplan because we pay with cc and we tip more than 15%. We also usually pay for everyone around the table and it amounts to a substantial tip, which makes cash not always practical.

Well that makes sense! YOU never have to worry about having your 15% +. However, since you posed the question for cash payers; my answer is applicable as a solution for those who don't handle these matters like you do.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Drythe — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:30:34 GMT

@patbz

I waited tables weekend nights at a restaurant frequented by alumni on game weekends all through undergraduate and graduate school. No easy job. I tip cash into the servers hand with a thank you attached. Too much goes on behind the scenes for me to do otherwise.

Cash works for me.

Re: QUESTION ON FOOD SERVERS' TIPS

Tinkrbl44 — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 07:55:11 GMT

@Love my grandkids wrote:
Both my late DH and I and later our son and his wife have a policy of giving a tip in cash directly to the server.

@Love my grandkids

I've always done that, too, but didn't have the right denominations for a tip. (Maybe that's why I've never seen this before.)