I was chomping on a tasty BBQ dinner with five friends when – GASP – the waitress undercharged us. The bill was $20 a head – a fab deal for the meaty meal – because she had failed to add another $11 for the booze. The four of us who split the drinks would have owed another $3.50 per, which includes tax and tip on the beer.
“Should we tell the waitress?” I asked.
Nobody said anything.
The person holding the bill shrugged.
Not being one to rock the boat, and being a little greedy, I kept my mouth shut. We paid the bill as is. The waitress went home a little poorer and we went home a little richer.
I still feel uneasy about what we did. I’m sure a few of my friends, if not everyone else at the table, had similar urges to do the right thing. But the group mentality to take advantage of a minor windfall won over the individual suggestion to fess up.
Should I have stood my ground? Or does being undercharged even out the times we don’t notice being overcharged?
What happens when you are undercharged?
Related:
Money morality – is finding money stealing?
October 7th, 2009 at 11:01 am
If I notice it at the time, I’ll point it out. If I get home and check the receipt and then notice it, I’ll just let it be. And I pretty much ALWAYS notice being overcharged.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I would have mentioned it to her or added the amount for the drinks to the tip. I usually do this when i get comped for dessert or drinks too. I leave thinking that I did the right thing and that even though I paid for it, the tax man didn’t get my money.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:32 am
The overcharges and undercharges usually balance out over the course of a lifetime so I don’t worry much about it. That is, if we’re talking about a few dollars or less.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:59 am
OMG – just reading Mike’s comment I remembered a dream I had last night. I was buying something and the cashier made change as if I’d paid with a $20. But I had actually given him a $5 and only deserved a few singles back. I handed him back the $10 and $5 bill and smiled. I think this is my financial conscience saying I’m in the clear!
October 7th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I always bring it to their attention and pay the correct amount. I’ve had cashiers look at me incredulously when I do, but I feel better. A long time ago, I was undercharged for something and let it go, and to this day, I feel guilty about it.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
If the restaurant notices the shortage, the server has to pay the difference.
Where was the restaurant — the food looks delish
October 7th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I agree with Stella. If I notice it when it happens I say something. If I don’t notice it until I get home, I let it be, but that has yet to happen because I always check my receipt.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Tell the thuth. There’s a good chance, due to your honesty, they wouldn’t have charged you for the drinks in the end.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I would either mention it to the waitress, or leave a really nice tip so that if the restaurant or she notices later, she is not out the money, but if no one notices, or if the drinks get comped, she gets a nice tip, but you aren’t really out anything either.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I would have metioned it to the waitress. Sometimes when a restaurant is busy things are overlooked and why take the chance of making the waitress get fired.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Could a server get fired for missing something on the bill? That seems awfully harsh – unless it happens repeatedly.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I like your suggestion, Tamara!
October 7th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
If that ever happens to me, I bring it to the waiter’s attention. Sometimes, they do not add the missing charges because it was their mistake. If they do that, I add about half of what was not charged for onto their tip.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I would have told the waitress chances are she had to pay it. I’m sure we all would say something if we were overcharged $11 so what is the differences. We all make mistakes. Calling it out to her is just the right thing to do.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I would have pointed it out. In the past I’ve had situations where my ice tea is not added to the bill. In this case I just add it to the tip.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I’m not going to be as kind as the rest of you. I can’t believe no one in the group was honest enough to point out the mistake to the waitress. You all KNEW it was wrong…why would you not point it out and, to add insult to injury, you stiffed her on her full tip!! Not to mention you cheated the restaurant and Uncle Sam!! And to add “the waitress went home a little poorer” really put this over the top. Geeeeez
October 7th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
This actually happened to me yesterday. I was exchanging a part in a hardware store, same item, and the cashier tried to give me change. I refused it, explaining that it was a straight exchange. She’d misread the receipt. It was less than a dollar, but that wasn’t the point.
I generally point out an undercharge without even thinking about it.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I always point it out. I feel it’s only fair, since I would point it out if I was overcharged.
Occasionally, I have not been charged the extra even though I pointed it out….
Once a cashier gave me back too much change. When I tried to point it out to her, she was annoyed (I think she wasn’t listening & thought I was accusing her of not returning enough change). When she answered me back rudely I said to her ” listen, I’m very happy to keep the extra change, but I really don’t think that that’s what you want”. She immediately changed her tune….., & thanked me profusely….
October 7th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
go back….make it right
October 7th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I agree with Lisa. Go back… make it right. Do it now.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
If I ordered it, I’m paying for it. Otherwise… it’s called stealing.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
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!
October 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I wait tables let it go no biggie.beer on tap is so cheap..
October 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I can’t believe you actually printed that in public after the Roomba/BB&B incident! I would have though tyou would be on your best behavior after that! Ha, ha. And the people pretty much supported you (yet another surprise).
Basically, if I liked the server I would mention it. If not – I would not. Once, my husband and I were at a fast food drive-thru and the male employee in the window was so busy staring at a cute girl out walking in the parking lot that he gave us too much change back. My husband kept it. He said that is what he gets for not paying attention to what he is doing.
On the other hand, as a working Joe – I know I make mistakes, too, and hope that people would try to help me out of it.
October 7th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I would tell the waitress! I always put myself in her shoes, and if it was MY mistake, I would have wanted someone to draw my attention to it.
The Golden Rule applies, as always!
October 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I wait tabels let it go draft beer is so cheap..
October 7th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
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.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I have had similar things happen. On small charges, I just let it go. If it’s something major, I bring it up. I probably let this go but I would have added the $10/15 to the tip so that the server would benefit. For the most part, they work very hard and have to deal with a wide range of personalities.
October 7th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
If I saw that I was undercharged I would let the waitress know. She is working hard for her money and it is always good to remember the golden rule.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
If she would of overcharged you…I am sure you would of said something! You call.
“What so ever a man soweth that shall he also reap”-Bible
October 7th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
(another Lynda)
I call the server/cashier/sales person’s attention to it. I tell them “I love bargains but I don’t want to cheat or steal. Having a clear conscience is worth more than #_______ to me”
I’ve had people in line behind me stare at me as if I were crazy (they probably thought I was).
To me, in buying something, I’m entering into a contract with that person/company/etc. and if they deliver the goods, then I owe them the full amount I thought I would have to pay.
It would also set a bad example for children. How do you explain that it’s not really stealing if the other person makes a mistake?
I used to work as a cocktail waitress and I have known waitresses and bartenders who would comp an extra drink or so, and then expect a larger tip. That extra drink comes at the expense of the business–which is stealing on the part of the employee.
To me there are a lot of gray areas in some situations, but here, no.
I think your dream was trying to tell you that you wanted to feel good about it…not that it was ok.
I DO monitor what I’m charged, and will call the person’s attention to it.
There was one episode (@Mimi’s) where the waitress didn’t charge for an item. I called her attention to it, she took the ticket back to her counter, and brought it back unchanged. I don’t know if she would have gotten in trouble if she had revised the bill, or if she was angling for a larger tip. I left a slightly larger tip, but not as much as the cost of the item, since it was going to her, not the restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t that busy at the time, so there was little excuse for the error. If it happens again (I will remember the waitress, I will advise the manager. Once an accident, twice…a scam.
Just because we’re on tighter budgets (unemployed, mine is MUCH tighter) doesn’t mean we can justify slacker behavior, blaming it on the economy. Sounds like some of the justifications from the big bankers…
October 7th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
.the waitress had to pay it back out of her tips if the manager or owner noticed. i know because it happened to me and they just took it out of my pay at the end of the week. bargain hunting and saving money is great but this is not a windfall this is actually stealing. it would be the same if you picked up a candy off a shelf ate it and never paid for it. i am disappointed.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I don’t really care about Uncle Sam – he gets me even when I don’t know it! But I think I would’ve told her that she didn’t charge us for the drinks…If maybe she left off an iced tea or something, I would’ve given it to her in a tip and that would be the end of it….
October 7th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
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.
October 7th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Gee, number one, did you tip her for the difference you weren’t charged?
Number two – did you guys think that perhaps she may have to pay for it out of her paycheck?
Restaurant service people don’t get the regular hourly wage others get – they get a lower rate and then the tips are added to their pay. A crummy way for wait staff to get paid!
I agree with Diana when she said that if you were overcharged you would have jumped on the bill….the reverse should have also been true. Don’t care how much you would have saved – hope you and your friends can sleep at night!
October 7th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
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.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
When this happens we always tip the waiter the extra – so add $10 or so to the tip. That way he either gets a bit tip or can cover the mistake.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
If I am undercharged $11, I will add that amount to the tip (on top of the customary 15-20%).
I let the waiter/waitress decide how to handle it. He/she will see the tip is unusually large and realize what happened.
I worked as a waitress when I was in college. Sometimes I deliberately neglected to add an item to the bill, hoping the customer would catch on and reciprocate by leaving me a generous tip. It’s an old trick and it usually works.
October 7th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
All I can say is that I’m disappointed in you, Julia. Too many of your posts seem to indicate that saving money is more important to you than honesty and doing the right thing.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
jenni porter says it best. Do what you would want done if you were the waitress.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
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.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:12 am
Was this peer pressure? individually perhaps most of you would have said something, but as a group no one had the you know what to step up and possibly suffered the jeers of their peers? Several people have written that they would have expanded their tip… but what about the business owner? C’mon people… don’t expect the golden rule to come to you if you aren’t able to live by it ! Just because sometimes you are overcharged because you don’t take the time to check the bill is no excuse for not stepping up.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Not cool…I hope after reading how many of the posters feel that you’ve gotten a wake-up call and will do the right thing by going back to the restaurant and giving the waitress the money.
I have to agree with Sue – you’re becoming more like Bad Ethics Babe instead of Bargain Babe…
October 8th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I’m fascinated that virtually everyone has said it was wrong to not acknowledge the mistake, in some way or other. Is this a case of Bargain Babe readers being much more honest than the general population, or a case of reverse peer pressure, that readers who would’ve kept the money gladly aren’t speaking up?????
October 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am
I try to do the right thing – I had the beer – I owe for it. Its stealing whether you gave the waitress an extra tip or not… the restaurant still loses. It is always good to ask yourself, “If I owned the restaurant, what would I want my employees/customers to do?” Just the other day my hubby and I were eating at Roys and we thought we were undercharged for our bill (we paid part gift certificate and part credit). The waitress thanked us and pointed out that the difference was in the tax… honesty is the best policy.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Go back and make it right! The poor waitress is going to be on the short end of the stick. Yesterday, I was undercharged by $9.99 at the market and told the clerk. She corrected her mistake and I went home with a clear conscience. Shame on you and your friends!
October 8th, 2009 at 10:18 am
When I was a waitress back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, we had to pay the bartender in advance for the cocktails and then collect from the customers. So if I forgot to charge, the money came out of my pocket.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
It is right to bring it to the waitress’ attention. Wrong not to. If it was her intention to comp you the drinks, she’d have brought it up to you.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Booze is so way overpriced in bars & restaurants, etc. It is more expensive than snacks in movie theaters.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:21 am
We can justify all we want about overcharges, profit margins, saving money and peer pressure, but whatever happened to doing the right thing?
October 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I learned early on in life (back in the Dark Ages) that I wasn’t very good at lying, so gave it up as a lost cause. I always point out errors in bills, whether over or under charging. Also, if there is money lying on the table (or grocery counter) I point it out to the server/checker. Honesty and respect for others should be inherent. That way you never have to wonder whether you’ve done the right (or wrong) thing. It’s obvious that you, and possibly some of your friends, knew what you did was not right. I’ve also worked as a server, and it mattered a great deal when people were considerate enough to point out errors, including making incorrect change. Made me more careful the next time.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Normailly I would condemn your action except that yesterday I handed the grocery store clerk $10 and received change for $5. I mentioned it but the clerk disagreed. The cash register was closed. I could make a fuss, instead I just walked out.
Is there a better response?
October 9th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Yes, take it to the manager!
October 9th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’ve never heard of this system, Marla, but sounds like it would keep servers on their toes.
October 9th, 2009 at 11:43 am
[...] comment about the waitress debacle really struck me: If you compromise your integrity because of peer pressure, you’re on a slippery [...]
October 9th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Occasionally checkers make a mistake in giving change. Because they don’t want to appear stupid to the boss, they sometimes try to cover their tracks, and say the register cannot be reopened. That’s the time to call for the manager. Never leave a store, restaurant, whatever, if you’ve been cheated. Honesty has to work both ways.
As for the comment that liquor is way over priced, so what’s the difference?… That’s not a reason to rip off the server! If you don’t like the prices, don’t go there. It’s so sad that personal responsibility seems on its way to becoming a thing of the past!
October 9th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I agree whole-hartedly with Lynda. And, I think you answered your own question in your initial report. You knew it was a mistake, if you had been overcharged you would have said something. In my opinion using the group as an excuse to not do the right thing was wrong. Whether beer is cheap or not isn’t the issue.
I have walked back into a store to pay for pork chops that I found under the store flyer when unloading my cart. No one else would have known, but I would know that I hadn’t paid for them. My son knows that I am just as quick to point out an under charge as an overc harge. I expect it to be right, and I expect to pay for what I get AND get what I pay for.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
If your child had told you this story, would you have cheered and said, “Great, you got away with that.”
It is one thing to be frugal, it’s another thing to be cheap, it’s a whole different dimension to be dishonest. And, for you to make this situation public, it’s clear that you don’t know those differences. What did you expect? People to say, You go, girl?
I don’t know if you realize this, but you have undercut your credibility.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:02 am
There’s really no justification for what you did, and I think you know it. You can rationalize it all you want with “the group mentality” excuse, but wrong is wrong.
If you have any sense of morality at all, you’d march back to that restaurant, admit what you did, and then give them back the $11. Then you should apologize to the waitress, who surely paid the price for your “windfall.”
November 15th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I have to put my money where my mouth is on this issue. I just won several items at my son’s old elementary school’s Silent Auction. I paid a volunteer mom who called to collect over the phone, and they dropped off my winnings the next day. I just realized that they undercharged me $26, by only charging me for one of the items. Could I get away with not bringing it to anyone’s attention? Could I rationalize it by thinking about how many hundreds of volunteer hours I gave to the school while we were there? Or how the stuff was all donated anyway? Is there a difference because one scenario involves a restaurant and the other involves a school?
IMO, yes, maybe, maybe and no. It’s all about doing the right thing every time, isn’t it?
I think by bringing this issue up you gave us all a lot to think about. It was hard to do and you really took your lumps. I didn’t bring this back up to reopen the wound, so to speak, just to point out how common a scenario like this can be. It was funny to be faced with it myself so soon after weighing in on the issue here.
November 15th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
alexa – you are spot on. again. I also had a recent experience at being undercharged. I called it to the attention of the sales person. He thanked me and told me ito consider it a comp. It was win/win..