A couple friends and I went out to Applebees. On my receipt there was an automatic 15% tip. So when I check my account the next day I realized that there was an extra 5 bucks added to my total. I called the manager of the location and he said that matters would be handled. It has been 4 days now, I mean who do I report this to I am furious.
I was a bartender at one of the Rosebud restaurants in Chicago while I was in college, and it occurred to me that it would be extremely easy to add tips (I never did!!! Don%26#039;t worry!!!), since customers wouldn%26#039;t look at the bill very carefully and would just sign their names. You are fortunate that you kept your receipt so that you could notice the discrepancy.
In order to avoid this in the future, put a line through the area that is labeled for the tip and write out the total in the area labeled total. It surprises me that people will sign their names to a piece of paper without considering these things, and I am sure this theft happens quite often.
While there is no way to ascertain that you did not add that tip, chances are if you continue to contact Applebee%26#039;s to complain, they will give you a gift card or somehow recoup your loss. When the manager stated that the issue would be handled, he may have meant that he would speak with the server about it, not necessarily that he would get your $5 back. Make sure that you state to the manager exactly what steps you hope will be taken to resolve the matter. Most likely, the manager will do whatever he can to help you, since they will not want to lose your business or the business of any friends that you may tell about the bad experience.
The most important piece of this story is %26quot;a couple of friends and I...%26quot;
How many is %26quot;a couple%26quot;? If there were six or more of you, then it is standard procedure to add 15% to the bill. Almost every restauarant in America accepts this rule, as to the customers. It assures waitstaff of a standard tip, even if the party that they are spending a lot of time on turn out to be a bunch of lowlife jerks. You are always welcome to add to that, but if you are a party of six or more, you should expect it by now.
If there were fewer than six of you, the waitress might just have gotten approval from the manager on duty, on some basic assumption...This would be NOT a standard thing, but still, if the manager ok%26#039;d it, then there probably isn%26#039;t a lot you can do about it.
The manager you spoke to may just be waiting until the othe manager and/or waitress are ON DUTY to discuss it.
It is fraud. It is stealing. The server is a thief and should be fired and arrested. You have to call back every other day. It%26#039;s not that it was %26quot;just $5%26quot; because, if the server stole $5 from each of 20 tables per day, that%26#039;s $100 per day or a lot per year. Call the manager back. Be sure to get the manager%26#039;s name. Tell the manager that you will deal with the home office if you can%26#039;t get satisfaction on the local level. I once paid with a gift card, and the server decided to take a 20% extra tip off of it, even though I had left cash on the table. I eventually (after about a month and 4 phone calls later) got the illegal tip reversed and a $25 gift certificate. If this was on your credit card, call the cc company right away and tell them that you dispute the charge. The cc company will follow up for you. I don%26#039;t know how to avoid it other than paying only with partial gift certificates and cash.
Ok, relax. Waiting tables is a stressful job and if you were a bunch of punka*sses, then you%26#039;re some of the most annoying customers there are. The service gratuity is added to the check when there%26#039;s a large tab that won%26#039;t tip. There%26#039;s also the fact that if there were a lot of you throwing credit cards at her, then the slips might have gotten messed up. Ask your friends if one of them were a decent human being and paid her for her services. Maybe that%26#039;s where the five dollars came from.
I am now a manager, but used to be a server, and I would NEVER do that. It is illegal and considered credit card fraud.
I would call your bank or credit card company and explain the situation and that this is a false chage; in most cases they will ask the restaurant for a full refund. Was the manager you spoke with friendly? Did he/she apologize and offer to send you promotional gift cards or anything to that extent?
I would call the restaurant again and speak with whom you previously talked to. Just inform them you do plan on taking further action so there aren%26#039;t any %26quot;surprises%26quot; on them later.
Chances are they spoke with the server and either gave her a warning or let her go.
Either way, I am sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, it happens more often than not.
If you pay by credit card then a service fee is automatically added to the amount. The $5 extra is the Waiters tip. As you did not tip the waiter/waitress on leaving in cash, it was added to the credit card amount. This is a normal practice. In the clasy restaurants the Wait fee can be $15 to $25. Also, if you drink wine, there is a corkage fee also.
was the $5 in addition to the automatic gratuity, or was the $5 the actual automatic gratuity??? if it was in addition to the grat, the server should be and probably was fired. i would call corporate, they make sure this is handled appropriately.
if the $5 was the actual automatic gratuity, you should have complained when you looked at your bill, not later. personally i tip 20%, 15% is not adequate.
good luck!
You should have noticed it while making the payments...the restaurant would have been answerable at that time..but noticing it the next day...i doubt it would help...its always a good idea to go through the details on the receipt before making the payments.
FIVE DOLLARS?! I mean I could understand three of four but FIVE WHOLE DOLLARS?! Yeah, it%26#039;d piss me off too, but let it go. What do you want, someone to get arrested or something? Ask the manager for five bucks, I%26#039;m sure everything will be fine.
God, calm down. I would bet my CAR that the server did not do that to you. That was an automatic thing to make sure the credit card had enough to cover the bill. If it isn%26#039;t resolved by now, call your bank. It happens all the time.
go to corporate. find out the managers name and store location and go to an applebee%26#039;s website to complain. all complaints go to a higher manager so that store manager gets written up and server will be punished as needed.
Call your bank - they%26#039;ll be able to reverse the extra $5 charge added on to the bill and taken out of your account. Then the restaurant would have to get that $5 from the server that took it.
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