Reactions to my post about keeping quiet when a waitress undercharged me and five friends runs the gamut from cutting me slack to dubbing me the “Bad Ethics Babe.”
I can tell reader Diana is wagging her finger at me:
You’re a nice lady, Julia. You know that was a scummy thing to do. I hope this is one of your regular eateries and you get the chance to do the right thing and make it up to the server.
I bet you and your friends would have leapt all over the server if she had overcharged you.
Pam thinks the waitress was fond of us:
I usually think the server liked us so much he/she is giving us a deal, so we make sure and tip the server at least as much as the deal they gave us and some more on top of that. I have worked in the hospitality industry and that seems to be understood, especially when you are a regular. Giving a deal always helps your tip, though owners of the establishments aren’t too happy about the practice, but it does keep customers happy and coming back!
Ashton says my gain is the waitresses loss:
Please go back to the restaurant and repay her! The money will be deducted from her tips. Times are hard for everyone, we shouldn’t try to get ahead off of other people’s mistakes.
Yvonne says beer on tap is cheap!
I wait tables. Let it go no biggie. Beer on tap is so cheap…
Scott’s says the dollar amount would determine his actions:
As the saying goes: “Buyer beware.” Sometimes it works out “Seller Beware.” If it’s a small amount I might not bother to point out the difference. If it would cost someone their job that’s another story.
Lisa says there’s only one thing to do:
Go back…make it right.
Julie thinks I learned my lesson:
If you make a habit out of honesty, then you never have to think about doing the right thing. You just do it and that is that. It is a comforting feeling. None of us are perfect. You slipped up a bit and it is obvious that you had some second thoughts. It is also very out front of you to admit it and have a discussion here. The best thing is a clear conscience. In this case, it was a good deal at the expense of someone else. I have a funny feeling if it ever happens again you will point it out to the waitress.
I am moved by all your comments and am re-thinking why I gave into peer pressure to not alert the waitress. I could have insisted on letting the waitress know or offered to pay for the group’s beer myself.
I’m still on the fence about whether I will return to the BBQ restaurant to correct the tab, but I’m certainly considering it!
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
Good for you — do it!
And what if, perchance, the server or restaurant owner is a BB reader. Then you are truly busted.
I’ve waitressed for many years at various restaurants. While the drinks MIGHT have been unintentionally free, I highly doubt the waitress had to pay for them. At all the restaurants I’ve worked at, the standard procedure was to electronically order all alcoholic drinks through the computer. The slips for drinks would then print out at the bar, and then the bartender would make them. She could have been friendly with the bartender and brought over a few drinks in order to get a better tip…though strange she didn’t mention they were on the house. (I’ve had this happen to me at bars/restaurants many of times.) There’s a high markup on alcohol on restaurants, so I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
If it was meant to be free, you could have eased your mind by asking her. Seems like a bit of an emotional hassle to save $11. I once had a customer tip me $50 on a $20 bill. I wasn’t sure if she had intentionally tipped me that much, and ended up chasing her down because I didn’t want to feel guilty. Turns out that was my tip and I went home very happy!
Let your conscience be your guide. I am sure you will do the right thing.
interesting that on the radio the “character counts” this week dealt with this issue–and the message was that our children learn by all of our actions vs our words. In my ethical mind, this is the same as stealing. Almost always when I’ve pointed out an error in my favor, I’m thanked for my honesty and told because of that honesty, the bill isn’t changed. I’m disappointed that you appear to be encouraging poor values and ethics.
dont worry about it because you know what restaurants mark up the drinks so much they make over 400% profit and she wont have to pay i worked serving food and got yelled at all the time for customers odering mistakes they say one thing and get what they ordered and its not what they wanted so i get yelled at because i made a mistake so just let it be dont worry about what they say if it was them u doubt they will speek up i know i would not
If you compromise your integrity because of peer pressure, you’re on a slippery slope. Your blog and your readers depend on your honesty, so get back on track by admitting the error, returning the money to the owner, and being scrupulously honest in the future.
Strong words from many of your readers. It’s so easy for someone to pass judgment tell someone else to do the right thing because they weren’t there when it occurred, and peer pressure is a very powerful thing. Of course, we all say to do the right thing, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Julia is as human as the next person, and I’m sure the thought of paying the bill as is entered every one of our minds. Would every reader here do what Julia and her friends did at the restaurant? Based on some of the comments, my answer would be “no.” But I believe many of us would have taken advantage of that situation. I’m sure that business owners know that their employees will make calculation errors from time-to-time. Hopefully, the server won’t be fired or financially reprimanded over the incident. And based on some of the comments, she won’t be. A couple of times, when I played blackjack, the dealer mistakenly paid me off on a losing hand. I knew it was an error, but felt awkward in pointing the mistake out to her because the pit boss was standing less than 5ft away. What did I do? I let the bet stand and played another hand. If I lost the bet, the casino gets their money back. If I won the hand, I would make sure to tip the dealer and tip her well. If Julia’s conscious is urging her to go back and make things right, then kudos to her. Should she pay for all her friends’ drink as well? I think her conscious would be clear if she offered to at least pay for what she consumed or she could offer to make a charitable donation in the restaurant’s name.
You’re “still on the fence”? Unbelievable!
Karma.
You will be happy when you repay the waitress. You don’t need the group’s approval to be honest! Be the leader and earn their respect.
Louise : the email address listed in your comment profile bounces, so you aren’t getting email updates about your comments.
Let me know if you want help setting that correctly.
–bargain hubby.
oh man, that’s right, the tab was all messed up at the BBQ place. I’ve been meaning to go back and tell the waitress, but now I’m not sure I’d recognize the waitress. But I could probably explain and figure out the date (Sat 9/5/09).
I don’t think I was really sure the bill was messed up until looking at it the next day. That much beef stunts the thinking.
Normally I’m really good at catching these kinds of mistakes. Responses range from confusion “why are you giving me more money” to relief “oh thank you, I would have had to pay the difference later” to the occasional “oh thanks honey, for you those are on the house”. (ok, maybe never that last one, but I’ll be ready).
Reading the twitter messages about this story had me on alert — so I noticed when my massage bill was off on Wednesday. I had just told the receptionist to run the bill for a 90 minute massage, and she ran it for 60. She was very happy when I commented and paid the missing $$. Turns out she’s new and still figuring out how to work the credit card machine and very overwhelmed. She had previously mis-run my credit card for $0.75 instead of $75, but caught that right away.