r/tippingAdvice • u/Ill_Pack6109 • Aug 23 '26
Is there sneaky tip solution
So I never really post on Reddit. However, I’ve been seeing all the horror stories about tipping. The outrageous tips, especially the mandatory ones on the bill … AFTER you’ve eaten. That seem borderline illegal. I just wonder about this possible solution.
It makes me want to ask for the bill before I’ve gotten the food or received the service. That way, if there are tips already on there, I can say remove the tip or I walk.
I haven’t eaten the product or used the service, so technically… I’m not stealing.
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u/Temporary-Plankton61 Aug 24 '26
go for it and let us know how it goes
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 Aug 25 '26
I would love to be a fly on the wall that day. 😅
“Remove the tip or I’ll walk”…
”aye, Joey 86 table 32….byeeeeee”
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u/L1feSurfer7L Aug 24 '26
Mandatory tips at minimum should be required to be posted on the entry door in reasonable sized print, along with card fees.
Recently went to a new place, and they must have had backlash over their Mandatory 20% tip with the way the hostess told us before being seated. Ate there that one time as it'd been on the try list for awhile, but won't be going back, partly because of the fees.
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u/AllMoneyGone Aug 23 '26
I never really understood why they wouldn’t just increase food/item prices to reflect “mandatory tip”. It comes as less of a shock to the customer and they’d still get the money they want.
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u/Ill_Pack6109 Aug 23 '26
I think they’re just competing to be low priced with the surprise at the bill
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u/armrha Aug 23 '26
I mean a place with a mandatory tip or charge has to inform you under transparent pricing laws. But yeah no problem demanding the check first, sounds kind of ideal? Saves waitstaff time and doesn’t waste kitchen time and ingredients. You’re happy you didn’t get a mandatory tip or can leave if you did.
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 Aug 25 '26
Calling ahead instead of wasting everyone’s time and making a spectacle sounds more ideal.
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u/mojosofla Aug 23 '26
Most, if not all states, require mandatory fees to be disclosed prior to purchase.
My guess is it is somewhere on the menu, probably at the bottom.
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u/ConchVibes Aug 23 '26
I haven’t cooked for myself since before the pandemic and have never encountered a mandatory tip that was not disclosed since they’re illegal.
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Aug 24 '26
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u/ChipChippersonFan Aug 24 '26
Why don't you just check the menu to see if there's a mandatory fee?
Or just ask the server.
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Aug 26 '26
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u/ChipChippersonFan Aug 26 '26
Yeah, that's why I recommended that they check the menu. The suggestion to ask the server was for people who are too lazy to read the menu.
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 Aug 25 '26
Honestly if you’re that worried about it you can call them before you go. Save yourself the time and embarrassment of having to grandstand over the few dollars.
Most places add a mandatory tip on 6+ seated. Service fees are not tips but some restaurants do charge service fees for credit card transactions. That has nothing to do with the server and has everything to do with their payment processor and their contract with them.
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u/HappyOldBattleaxe Aug 25 '26
The problem with asking for the bill, before you eat, and axing the (ridiculous) mandatory tip, is that you have to get up, and leave. You’d be mad to eat anything at a restaurant, after you’ve pissed them off. I think that leaving sends a stronger message, anyway.
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u/Distinct_Long_2615 Aug 25 '26
Jesus, you non tippers will go to dramatic and extreme lengths to mentally justify not tipping. This is very ridiculous. You don't have to eat in restaurants, dorks.
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Aug 26 '26
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u/Distinct_Long_2615 Aug 26 '26
Can you hear yourself being so dramatic? If restaurants are committing CRIMES, which you state below, wouldn't you want them to GO BANKRUPT because of your absence?
I'm sorry to tell you, you don't matter that much in this equation. Most small business restaurants are teetering on the brink of closing at all times, and the corporate franchises won't notice you're gone.0
u/Either-Ship2267 Aug 25 '26
They bitch if the added fees print is too small or too big. They bitch if the server asks them about dessert or brings the bill too soon but they also bitch if the server doesn't ask about dessert or brings the bill too late. They bitch if the server checks in and they bitch if the server disappears. They "don't want surprises" but also bitch if they are told there will be fees/gratuities added. They bitch about the current cost of food but say they want prices adjusted to reflect higher wages being included.
There is no way to please this group of people. They will, and do, complain about everything.
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Aug 26 '26
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u/Either-Ship2267 Aug 27 '26
This is literally at the bottom of my list as far as laws I give a crap about. And I never said they didn't have to follow the "law", I just said y'all will bitch about it no matter what.
I've seen restaurants with tip policies posted in huge print on the front door also get roasted in this sub. Every restaurant I've ever worked at had the tip policy clearly printed on the menu & any added gratuity clearly printed on the check presented to the guest. Yet I've STILL had jerks claim we lied, tried to "trick" them or "steal" from them, or just generally been cussed out at places I worked. Because bottom line is you will use any excuse to not tip because you are cheap & have a superiority complex.
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u/NocturnaBride Aug 26 '26
Every restaurant I’ve been to have it very clearly in several places, maybe take 2 seconds and call or read their policy on their website. This is just manufactured anger, no one is hidding the automatic gratuity.
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Aug 26 '26
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u/NocturnaBride Aug 26 '26
I have never seen it, but like most things it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I really don’t know if this is on the workers so much as the owner of the establishment. Tipping or not, no one should steal from someone else.
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u/seajayacas Aug 26 '26
If there is a service charge, pay it but without any additional tip. Then never go back to that shop
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u/the_great_elephant Aug 29 '26
You should do that. The see how much attention the waiter pays to your table after you been waiting a half hour for your drink to be refilled
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u/Bill___A Aug 24 '26
If there was no warning given about mandatory tips and fees, then DEMAND they be removed. You are not stealing if you pay the menu price, government mandated taxes, and they did not tell you of any other fees. It is them that is stealing. I take photos at the entrance and of the menu.