While the internet has many wonderful advantages, one of the downsides is having easy access to localized stories all over the globe — especially when these stories make us feel paranoid to continue living the way we’ve been living. For example: Sure, there might be a dishonest waiter out there who’ll take your receipt and add an extra number. But even if it’s an isolated incident, you better be sure that you keep an extra close watch on your bank statement to make sure you, yourself, haven’t been scammed as well.
The truth is, there are plenty of ways we can be scammed at a restaurant. Think about it — we’re pretty vulnerable when we sit down to eat. We trust that the kitchen is kept safe and clean, and that the chef didn’t spit in our burger when we sent it back for being just a little too raw. For those of us with food allergies, we hope that the professionals take it seriously. Otherwise, it could mean life or death.
And then there’s the moment we hand over our credit card to our server. Sometimes, they don’t come back to the table immediately. Are they jotting down our card information?
But that doesn’t mean that bad customers don’t exist. Some of them have pulled pretty scammy receipt tricks themselves, often to get out of paying for food or their tip.
Now, here are the worst restaurant receipt stories that have made us paranoid.
1. The Macaroni Grill Fraud
Back in 2011, a customer who visited the Albany, New York, location realized that her $5.25 tip on a bill of $14.75 wasn’t good enough for one of the members of the waitstaff. Instead, that total turned into a mysterious $15.25, making the full amount $30.00.
Tipping more than the bill amount is a generous offer that happens, but not all that frequently.
After a long process filled with miscommunication, the Macaroni Grill finally issued an apology, stating, “We regret the lapse in judgment made by our restaurant team member and the way in which the entire situation was handled, from beginning to end.”
2. The Pastor Who Refused To Tip, Thanks To Religion
If you consider yourself to be religious, that’s wonderful. However, that doesn’t give you an out for tipping appropriately after your Applebee’s meal. Sadly, this actually happened. One waitress revealed that her receipt from a pastor said,
“I give God 10%, why do you get 18?”
She was actually fired by the corporation in 2013, after she posted about it on Reddit. Even though the image was removed, plenty of people, including other pastors, felt the action was unfair.
3. The Racist Receipt
A Christian named Khalil Cavil was left a bill with no tip at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa, TX that said, "we don't tip terrorist" because the costumer thought he was a Muslim. The impact of #Islamophobia on black and brown people. https://t.co/8jumokOovK pic.twitter.com/Zi4C6poDbG
— Dr. Debbie Almontaser (@DebbiAlmontaser) July 21, 2018
This story was making headlines everywhere — twice — back in 2018. Once, because it’s incredibly offensive to the waiter. And twice, because it became apparent that the waiter made up the entire story. Khalil Cavil, a server at Saltgrass Steak House in Texas, posted on Facebook that a receipt he received stated,
“We don’t tip terrorist.”
But, it turned out to be fake. Bad for Cavil, who reportedly did it for Facebook likes, but good for humanity.
4. The Gift Card Waitress
According to police, while 25-year-old Leah Wehrmann was working at Juicy Lucy's Burger Bar and Grill in Asheville, she made 14 fraudulent transactions. https://t.co/Go5XVlQfSf
— WOR NewsTalk Radio (@710WOR) April 25, 2019
This waitress didn’t scam customers necessarily, but she did scam the restaurant she worked at by adding outrageous tips to gift cards during the second round of ringing them up. The staff member, who worked at Juicy Lucy’s Burger Bar And Grill, scammed bosses by having them fork up the missing amount at least 14 times — until she was caught.
5. The Racist Napkin
This note to an Applebee’s waitress in Kentucky wasn’t necessarily left on the receipt, but was positioned by the receipt explaining the lack of tip. Posted by the waitress’s mom on Facebook, it quickly went viral and gained a ton of much-deserved sympathy. Black waitresses shouldn’t be treated differently and deserve to be tipped appropriately.
6. The Fat-Shamer
This time, it was an Applebees in Edison, NJ. A friend of the waitress, who was overweight, got a terrible receipt with no tip. Looks like the customers felt like they could scam her out of it due to her size, which is both ridiculous and heartless.
7. The Worst Waiter Ever
Waiter added extra tip at a restaurant, best way to follow up? from r/personalfinance
This customer on Reddit had such a bad experience at a restaurant that he just knew his waiter would add more to the tip line. And after keeping a close eye on his bank account, turns out he was correct.
Sometimes you really have to trust your gut and follow up with those feelings.
It may have just been $1, but it’s still illegal and not at all okay for the waiter to do. Good thing he kept an eye on his account!
8. The Ongoing Dispute
It’s unclear as to whether or not this 2015 incident helped close down The Wooden Keg Tavern in Pottsville, PA, but it surely didn’t help. A customer on Yelp noticed a tip increase added by the waitress, and supposedly, the restaurant didn’t act on it very quickly.
“This place would be a four or maybe even five star place but our waitress added extra tip onto my credit card and it took management months to even get a response to me,” they wrote.
“The girl has since quit/been fired but I wonder how many other people she did that to before anyone noticed.”
9. The Shady Bartender
This story comes from a TripAdvisor review of Kenya’s Brew Bistro Roof Top. “The bartender seemed nice, although he also seemed very nervous and shaky the whole time,” the patron from Atlanta wrote. “After about three hours when we were ready to pay the bill, it came and there was no happy hour discount and all the wine was full priced. We ordered the wine specifically because our bartender told us it was on offer.”
But, that wasn’t all.
According to the customer, he got a second receipt that included his forged signature. “After having to request other bartenders to get him to come back with my receipts, he shows up with the itemized receipt and ANOTHER RECEIPT WHERE HE FORGED MY SIGNATURE. Then he had the nerve to tell me that he accidentally charged 400 less than he should have and wanted to run my card again.”
10. The Chef Who Asked For Spit On A Burger
"Please spit in it too!" After eating burger for Father's Day meal, man sees nasty note to cook on his receipt https://t.co/JllrfUDQqz pic.twitter.com/IxhFroRRFi
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 18, 2018
Even if this was a joke, it’s not a funny one. When people think you’ll spit in their food for revenge, they won’t be back. It’s not only rude, but it’s also unsanitary. Fingers crossed this was just a typo that stated it should be “split” in two. Still, a weird request for a burger.
11. The Restaurant That Did The Math Wrong
Restaurant receipt suggested tips are higher than the actual percentages for the cost from r/mildlyinfuriating
Even though most of us have calculators on us at all times (thanks, iPhone!), that doesn’t mean math isn’t hard. It’s very convenient to have the restaurant do the numbers for us. But as this Redditor found out, those numbers might actually be inflated a little bit. No one is perfect, and that’s exactly why double-checking is so important.
12. The Double Tip
Restaurant added their own tip on top of my cash tip.. from r/personalfinance
This customer on Reddit admitted he accidentally took both copies of the receipt, which means that there’d be no electronic tip for the waitstaff. Even though they said they left cash on the table, they noticed their bill was still $10 more than it should have been. Considering they left cash on the table, this is definitely not okay. Just because it isn’t electronic, that doesn’t mean it’s not there!
13. The Confrontational Waitress
Splitting bills can be tough, and can often leave waitresses a little underfunded. But in this case, the confrontational waitress who tried to grab extra tip money while the group was there added extra charges the second they left. Again, not okay, and she probably should have known that her customers would check up on her because of her behavior.
14. The Restaurant That Didn’t Explain Their Receipt
So I finally went to Philay’s in Gonzales, here’s my review. from r/ascensionparish
It’s always tough to go to a restaurant and spend more than you intended. But in this case, they added gratuity and didn’t honor a coupon. Even worse, it was tough to tell what was what, since the receipt included no text. How is that still a thing in this decade? With technology, everything should be much clearer, one would hope.
15. The Wendy’s Order With A Side Of Insult
Wendy's customer left outraged after he received a receipt with ‘CHUBBY' written on it instead of his name as the entire restaurant erupted w/ laughter when it was called out. What do you think? #EverybodyTalks pic.twitter.com/Z4kNs2GPBe
— The Talk (@TheTalkCBS) October 17, 2018
Even though this one wasn’t financially scammy, it’s still a receipt that never should have been. One Wendy’s customer saw that they referred to him as “Chubby” on the receipt. The fact that everyone laughed when his order was called is even more humiliating and would make anyone afraid to order food again.
16. The Waiter Who Forged A Signature
Waiter forged my signature and added a higher tip on a new receipt. What legal ramifications do I have? from r/personalfinance
It’s tough to even imagine who’d think this was a good idea, especially for a small amount of extra income. Is the tip low? Of course it is. And most waiters and waitresses would be bummed out about it, even if they acknowledge their service was poor. But, it’s not criminal to leave a bad tip. It’s criminal to fake one.
17. The Mixed Receipts
Listen, mistakes happen. But there’s something just a little fishy about this one. Maybe Superior Grill in New Orleans should be a little more careful, since one financial goof could lead to a lot of lost business. People just won’t trust you after that, and that could greatly affect your reputation.
