RESTAURANT TIP SCAM-BEWARE!

The other day, two of us had a dinner meeting in a local kosher restaurant. The meal was pleasant even if the service was a tad “off.” When the bill came, we looked at the bottom of the bill, noted that it seemed higher than we expected, but ignored the feeling.

On the bill, they graciously provided a line that said TIP…………… . Without really thinking about it, we wrote in our usual 20%. End of story? Nope!

The next morning while reaching for some tzedaka money to put in the box, out came the receipt from the back pocket. It was only then that we noticed that the bill included a 15% gratuity. Niiiiiiiice. They charged 15% and we tipped an additional 20%. Unless you are Donald Trump or the Sultan of some wealthy caliphate, that is an extraordinary tip!

Here in the Metro NYC area, restaurants started putting automatic tips on the bill if the party at the table was five or more. Apparently now they do it for even two (maybe even one, who knows?). We have no quarrel with that. BUT, if you are going to do that, do not put a tip line on the credit receipt, especially with the word TIP in large letters. That is robbery.

We realize that we have no one to blame but ourself. We should have looked carefully at the bill. We didn’t, so we paid the penalty for not looking.

On the other hand, we think that the vaad that supplies hashgacha for that restaurant (a vaad not known for being a shrinking violet) should step in. The tip line on a bill that already has a tip figured in is totally wrong. What would the Chafetz Chaim say? He would accuse the business of geneivat hadaat.

We will never make that mistake again. We probably also will never return to that restaurant again, either. So, we hope that they rejoiced in pulling the wool over our eyes. Make sure the money lasts- you won’t get any more from us!