Don't Leave that Receipt
Here's the latest one:
Dining out at a restaurant is a great way to celebrate or just relax, but it still requires a dose of common sense. You would send back your meal if it wasn't fully cooked rather than eat it and get food poisoning, and the same care is required for your finances. The main thing to remember is not to leave the customer copy of your credit card receipt at a restaurant, and really, there are multiple reasons for this.
Most people don't fill out the customer copy, so leaving a blank one gives an unscrupulous waiter the opportunity to adjust the tip in their favor after you leave. Additionally, if you have any problems with unauthorized charges from the restaurant, it will be significantly easier to dispute the charge if you have the receipt that tells you exactly what you spent.
I nearly always take the "customer copy" of the receipt when dining-out. Not necessarily because I think someone might increase the tip, though. Hadn't really thought of that -- guess I always try to think the best of people.
I really think that more and more restaurants will be moving towards the tabletop kiosks like what Chili's has where the diner swipes his own credit card and enters the tip right on the screen. If/when that happens, it'll prevent an "unscrupulous waiter" from adjusting the amount.
Oh wait...... it opens the door to a hacker. Yeesh.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
