Make Sure To Check Your Receipts For This In Buffalo

When you go out for dinner, you should always tip your waiters well.  But make sure you keep an eye out for this next time you offer to take the check.

Tipping is tough.  How much should you tip?  Are you tipping on the pre-tax amount?  Do you just ask yourself what it was worth to you to have your meal served to you at your seat?  Is 15% normal?  Do you have to do 20%?

You never want to be the one that doesn't quite tip enough.  But at the same time, we all have to fill our gas tanks, right?  You want to make sure that you're giving an amount that is worthy of the service that you received.

It's pretty normal to get your check then look for the suggested tipping box at the bottom and go with that.  Normally that will give you a range of 15%-20% that you can choose based on what your total bill amount is.

Well...that's what you would expect.

However, after seeing a couple postings on Reddit from here in Buffalo, that's not always what it seems to be.  Take this one for example:

The total on the bill is $38.05.  If my math is correct, 20% of $38.05 is $7.61.  If you look at the suggested tip amount, it says that 20% is $12.20!  It's almost $5.00 too much!  That's over 30%.

Obviously, none of the other numbers add up either.

So is this a mistake?  How is that calculation so far off?  You'd hope that it's just a simple mistake.

Again, I want to be sure I'm clear, people in the service industry should be tipped well in many cases.

But people should also be aware that the "suggested tip" box on that receipt might not be as accurate as the phone they have in their hand.  Yup, you'll have to do some math, but at least you'll know it's right.