Cant help with reality here. Not in USA.

In UK I just round it up to the nearest note with the phrase "keep the change pal". I look like a fairly generous guy if the change is 4.90. I look like a condescending prick if the change is 0.10.

At that point though im out the door so I dont have to deal with gratitude or the ol' stinkeye

that qr code isn't properly censored. qrs have redundancy and you need at most like 60% visible for most of them. pulled the number aut of my ass but it's definitely a thing.

I disagree with tipping on tax, but agree with tipping on discounts. I baseline 20% and adjust up or down based on quality of service, while paying attention to how overworked the staff is.

I once sat at a hibachi table with strangers who were super demanding and then complained about the service and refused to tip so I added their tip to my bill (without saying anything because I didn't want to start an argument with them).

Waitstaff get fucked coming and going. If they do their share of the work, it's not their fault if the kitchen fucked up. I generally just add the cost of the comped item to the tip rather than 20%.

I order everything to-go. Cheaper, and I can eat in the comfort of my own home without anyone judging me for slopping it all in a bucket or pushing me to taking one last bite and exploding.

I just do 20 for easy math

Suggested gratuity is calculated after taxes and before discounts.

If you add back in the comped appetizer, the math maths. Not saying I agree with the practice, but it's not fraud. They're suggesting you tip based off what you received not what you're paying per se.

71.35 + 13.99 = 85.34 x 0.15 (for good service) = 12.80

if paying cash round up or down to the nearest dollar.

I had to do a double take because I thought you got charged $14 for fucking water.

wow. suggested tip in the US syart with 18%. i could NOT afford to eat out in the us

I don't tip. Like, look, I would be blessed if I even go out to dine somewhere. I would just be demanding your workplace to pay you more. I shouldn't have to cover that tab.

So, the reason the math is off, is because they calculated the percentages before discounts.

See that free appetizer on there? It was part of your total when they did the math. Which seems less shady when you remember the tip goes to your server, who did the same amount of work, no matter how much of a discount you received.

I tip depending on what I can afford and level of service.

one time a pizza guy delivered my pizza, seemed really chill and was way early (delivered like 10 minutes after I ordered it). I only had $100 bills so I tipped him $100 on a $25 pizza.

another time my food was four hours late. I was already in bed at that time. they got zero tip. left my pizza on my front door where raccoons tore it apart and I had to hose pizza sauce off my steps and door the next morning.

"Suggested gratuity is calculated after tax and before discounts", right there on the check.

There's a $13.99 discount on the bill for the free chicken wings. Add that in, and the value of the food you got was a bit over $91, the calculated percentages are correct for that number.

I tip $0.

no ifs ands or buts. zero. null. talk to your boss if you need more money, or quit. not my problem.

If you could get the ear of a manager I'd "inform" them of the error. If I got even a hint that it was a known and accepted error or even intentional, I'd tell them I'm not eating there anymore. You could also talk to the server or bartender to see if it's a known issue.

Had they had shit like this when I was serving I'd have crossed that off on every bill I brought to a customer.

Edit: just a pet peeve. why the hell do people just downvote with no extra comment? What is so controversial about what I said?

Secondly, given that it's a corporate chain (didn't clock that before commenting), they'd get no benefit of the doubt. I'd just tell them I'm not coming back and that's the reason.

Dont Tip