Relish

Q: How common is “tip jacking”? Is it something I need to worry about or is it an uncommon occurrence? —Peter F., Chicago, Ill.

A: ‘Tis the season when unscrupulous people get tempted to be a little more so.  

“Tip jacking” occurs when a restaurant server (or even a higher-up) alters or adds a tip to a guest check for personal gain. Altering one is easy: A common tactic is to add a “1” to a single digit tip, then adjust the total. If the guest check is paid with plastic and the tip is left in cash, a tip can be placed onto the blank line and the total adjusted.

When this occurs, it’s rarely caught on the front end—managers and bookkeepers do not take the time to play small-time detective. It’s the customer who figures out he’s been duped.

Is tip jacking a problem? The short answer is “probably not,” but as there are no studies and no reporting mechanisms, no one really knows for sure. Bob Bonney, CEO of the Missouri Restaurant Association, commented that he’d never even heard of the practice and that, “if this was a problem of any significance or magnitude, I certainly would know about it.”

What seems to be more common, however, is “double-tipping,” where the host of a large party leaves a second tip on top of an automatic gratuity that was already assessed.

Another frequent (and similarly unstudied) occurrence is “check padding,” where additional items get mysteriously added onto a guest’s check. Again, it’s the larger parties that seem to be most victimized, as it’s easier to slip in an extra entrée or bottle of wine onto the check of a 10-top than a smaller party. Plus, a 10-top’s bill is rarely scrutinized and is often split five ways, so no one’s ever the wiser.

Admittedly, the net gain on this scam is $10 or less per occurrence, but the risk is next to zero—if caught, the server simply admits the “error” and corrects the check. But over the course of a month or a year, those extra $10 bills—your $10 bills—will add up.