If you’re one of those people who never reads the receipt, you might want to start. This customer says she got scammed after reading the receipt before leaving.
While buying two fountain drinks at Keene Trace Golf Club, Jenna Simpson (@jjsimp_) says she noticed the person behind the register rang her up for $1.20 more than the total. Jenna explains that the cashier took her card to swipe behind the register away from the screen where they began their transaction.
Simpson says she noticed from afar that the cashier was ringing her up for $7.20 instead of the $6.00 total and thought $1.20 was a lot for taxes. As a result, she says she asked for a receipt to review the transaction. After reviewing the receipt in the bathroom, she returned to the cashier with questions.
Simpson says she asked if the cashier added a tip to the transaction and the cashier said no. Allegedly, the additional charge was a 20% service fee from credit cards. She says this was odd since the receipt said there was a $0.00 service charge. Simpson then let the cashier know that she would’ve liked to know this before paying so she could’ve just used cash.
According to Simpson, the cashier then asked, “OK, do you want me to refund the tip?”
Simpson says she was confused since the worker had claimed no tip was added. After approving the refund, Simpson says the cashier gave her back not just $1.20, but $2.00 because they didn’t have change.
“That just tells me she’s guilty because why would you give me $.80 extra cents if you’re not wrong?” Simpson says.
The video has over 44,000 likes and over 500,000 views as of Friday.
@jjsimp_ #greenscreen the fact that the service fee says 0 and the amt I was charged extra was 20% is what gets me. Will 100% be checking receipts from now on, and also won’t be tipping unless I sit down to eat #tips #tip #tipping #tippingculture #sus #restaurant #receipt #money #scam ♬ original sound – Jenna Simpson | PA-C
Are tipping scams common?
If Simpson was indeed being scammed, she is not alone. The Daily Dot has previously covered a different customer who believes they were scammed and charged $3 to $4 dollars extra disguised as a tip. According to Dellish.com, not even the self-service tip-choosing screens that allow you to decide a percentage are safe. This article explains how sometimes the tip percentage options are not accurate percentages of the total bill and is another they are charging you extra. It seems that tipping scams might be more common than you think.
What are viewers saying?
Viewers are just as appalled as Simpson is.
“That’s VERY illegal on her part,” one user said.
“20% is the tip. Credit cards are usually a 3% fee,” another wrote.
“Tell the management. She is doing that to everyone!” a user commented.
Actually, Simpson did tell management. In a follow-up video, Simpson says she emailed management to tell them what happened. They claimed that although gratuity is often already added, the worker should have given Simpson the option to add it in this scenario. They also mentioned that they looked at the security cameras for the incident and don’t believe the employee was trying to be fraudulent. Still, management said they are using this as an opportunity to train their front-of-house staff.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Simpson for comment via TikTok message and comment.
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