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I worked at a grocery store for 10 years I was in pretty much every department at one time or another. I've been working in IT for 4 years now which while better some of the worst users are up there with bad customers, that said the further I get in IT the less of my day is dealing with people. Actual store stuff, most of my time was at the front end (bagging / ringing) even when I was working with other departments due to not being full time (High school / college, couldn't get full time when I dropped out, then I went back to a different college and finished). Part of our store policy was to bring the food out to the car after bagging, even if the customer refused we had to ask 3 times, and if they declined all 3 we had to tail them and take the cart back in. It was the creepiest thing. If I just tagged along it was really awkward if I waited until they were done a manager would say something. The best way to do it was to go outside a bit after them after going out note which way they went go down an adjacent line of cars while stalking them try and swing by when they ditch the cart so you can take it back. Most customers that got a ton of stuff and needed 2 carts were nice enough to push one of them to their car, most people would also help you put the stuff in their car unless they had kids, usually by the time they got the kids settled in I was done, which is fine. This one lady was a real ham beast  Purchased several of the largest things of bottled water that were easily 50lbs+ each, and needed 2 carts. She refused to push one of the carts saying that's what I was paid for, it was also busy and I couldn't get someone else to help me so I'm pushing one and pulling the other trying to cross the busy road that no one stops at that is going down a hill between 2 carts that are a few hundred pounds that could probably do some serious damage. After getting to the car she takes out a used dunk'n donuts cup and hands calls me over while I'm half way done. "It's hot, fill this with ice from the bag of ice and bring me some water". That is really was not my job, and she did it in the most obnoxious way possible. I did it because I'm not an rear end in a top hat like her.So many other great stories from my 10 years there. On the tipping topic while there we weren't supposed to take tips and I'd decline them but if someone insisted I'd take it, usually a tip would be a good $10+ but I'd only get one every few weeks. Most of them were people who would try and be sly about shoving a hand in front of me and dropping some money into my apron pocket. I always tip well (20%+) unless service is really awful, I once gave a 10% tip and this is because the person took drinks, didn't show up again for 30 minutes asked if we were ready to order and completely forgot about the drinks (put the non existent round on the bill afterwards too), didn't show up for another 30 minutes after giving us our drinks. Overall it was 3 hours for what should have been an hour meal. I was not amused, needed a manager to remove the first round of drinks that never showed because they claimed we had 3 rounds and not 2, also refilled a drink that was not asked for. I know people need to make money so I would feel bad leaving a $0 tip but I really did feel like it. I didn't complain about the service beyond hey my bill had stuff that didn't come. I hope everyone in this thread finds their own escape from the hell that is retail. I know it's not always possible though, my dad has worked retail his entire life. pixaal fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Jul 5, 2017 |
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Jul 5, 2017 18:06
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KomodoWagon posted:Plenty of vegans are smart enough to not fall for the gluten-free scam though Yeah, but you're already making a non-donut, so you might as well double up on the dietary restrictions so you only have to stock and recommend one.
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Jul 5, 2017 18:10
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Fried Watermelon posted:When I was a cashier they rarely scheduled you more than 4.5 hours. Usually it was whatever the lowest amount of time they could schedule you without having to pay you for a lunch break. meanwhile, this is the opposite problem my store has. all of the lowest level employees can get shifts ranging from anywhere from 4-10 hours (or more or even double shifts), although they'll only work the longer shifts if they get put into a position where they're asked and management just assumes that it'll be a yes every other time afterwards. The idea is to run a skeleton crew using as few hours as possible, and give people who shouldn't really have responsibilities in the first place that much more in order to make up for the lack of employees in the store at any given time. There are many times you might come into my store and see a cashier building a display chair near their register. Granted, I didn't mind taking some of the odd jobs, anything to get me off of register and talking to customers anyway, but I made a habit out of saying "No." because as soon as you say yes, you're the one who's constantly going to be asked to do poo poo you probably don't really want to do (Pushing carts in the 90F weather/in the snow, cleaning the bathrooms, etc.). Returns/Shopbacks were always the best though. One or two shifts I came in and did returns the whoooooole time. My store is also particularly inefficient, because there are ALWAYS people just not doing any work at all and other people who have to pick up the slack for them, whether it be the three below average intelligence janitors that don't clean anything or the old HR manager who wouldn't make the schedule (or do any of the other things her job entailed).
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Jul 5, 2017 18:19
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Everyone talking about Quiznos, jokes on you- I drive by two on the way home from work 
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Jul 5, 2017 18:22
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One place I worked at got a lot of migrant workers every summer, and they only ever got paid in $100 bills. 3-4 guys at a time from a roofing company all wanting just a hotdog and a soda always killed both registers and the safe. We only had $400 in $20's in the safe until the owner balanced it out again in the afternoon. I had to tell one of those guys to stop barfing his breakfast in the bathroom sink I mean who does that?? After getting wiped out one day, a guy paid for his coffee with a $100 and I gave him a $50 with the rest of his change. "Don't you have anything smaller?" "If I did I would have given it to you." gently caress off I'm not a bank. The place I'm at now is doing the "corporate restructuring" bit where they bust everyone down to part time, and the full timers can either deal with it or bounce. We're going to lose all of our best department heads in September. I hope they don't expect me to fill in for my department, because the lady in charge never showed me how we reorder stock, or how to use the scan gun. Fuckin laffo if they think I'm gonna do a full timer's work on a part time schedule for less pay. The full timers are responding by taking all of their vacations and sick days at once before they quit. Waffle! fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Jul 5, 2017 |
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Jul 5, 2017 18:37
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my girlfriend had a customer do the 'lay 5 dollar bills on the table and take one away whenever your coffee is a later than you expect" thing. Even funnier as we're in Toronto and they were using American ones. she took great pleasure in ignoring their table all meal and then when they began their 'well dear see you would have gotten this much but' speech she informed them that five dollars would have also have been a poor tip. shes a good kid.
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Jul 5, 2017 19:01
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The Walrus posted:my girlfriend had a customer do the 'lay 5 dollar bills on the table and take one away whenever your coffee is a later than you expect" thing. Even funnier as we're in Toronto and they were using American ones. she took great pleasure in ignoring their table all meal and then when they began their 'well dear see you would have gotten this much but' speech she informed them that five dollars would have also have been a poor tip. yeah i've had people try to pull this on me before and it basically makes me ignore you as hard as possible while still technically doing my job i dont mind it tho a lot of waiting tables would be easier if people just straight up told me before i lift a finger for them that they're garbage assholes who won't tip. mcdonalds is around the corner pal, don't come back
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Jul 5, 2017 19:03
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All the stories of people expecting coffee shops or w/e to break their 100 dollar bills just floors me because I thought it was p common knowledge you weren't supposed to do that. Hell I didn't even know you could I just assumed most places wouldn't have the change and would say so.
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Jul 5, 2017 19:04
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It's the Deep South. Everyone's fat. It's summer. Everyone stinks.
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Jul 5, 2017 19:04
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Waffle! posted:
This is the standard move these days, and the whole reason they're doing it is to get those people with salaries and vacation days accrued over several years to quit. Best Buy did that to the store I worked in right after I moved on to a real job. If it's anything like what I saw happen, the jobs will be converted back to full time about a month after everyone quits, and those who stuck around will be forced to re-apply for their own job and take a huge pay and benefits cut. The Geek Squad guys who drove around in the cars used to actually be super knowledgeable and experienced (unlike the chucklefucks in the store), and consequently made 18-20$ an hour plus commission on additional services and hardware they could sell once they got on site (and a company car they drove home every night!). Right before I left, they also did the "corporate restructure" thing to the field Geek Squad agents, and I believe every single one of them in our region quit. I was one of the in-store aforementioned chucklefucks so it didn't really affect me beyond customers being angry they couldn't schedule in-home stuff temporarily, but it really was a kick in the rear end to get me to move on.
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Jul 5, 2017 19:05
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Arven posted:This is the standard move these days, and the whole reason they're doing it is to get those people with salaries and vacation days accrued over several years to quit. I get why both sides are doing what they do, but what pisses me off is that we're going to lose the most experienced people who can get things done without a hassle.
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Jul 5, 2017 19:14
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Azuth0667 posted:
no way buddy. thats like 12 sandwiches a minute. get out of here with that crazy talk.
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Jul 5, 2017 19:15
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Aramoro posted:I have cash in my saddle bag but I've never used it, I take a card with me because lol if you actually use cash. bluetooth headphones and a smartwatch with samsung/apple/android pay is the coolest thing I do and makes me feel like a jetson
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Jul 5, 2017 19:24
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The Walrus posted:bluetooth headphones and a smartwatch with samsung/apple/android pay is the coolest thing I do and makes me feel like a jetson oh oh oh forums user The Walrus over here with his occupation for kings and boundless salary so he can afford his bluetooth headphones inlaid with platinum diamonds and his smart watch made out of gilded emeralds!! please god help me escape this low-income hell hole 
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Jul 5, 2017 23:00
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If you have android I recommend the gear 3 it syncs really well and looks nice. And ya paying via android pay is badass.
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Jul 5, 2017 23:44
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i too enjoy beaming a list of my favorite restaurants straight to trump's nsa jk cash rules
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Jul 6, 2017 00:31
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The Walrus posted:my girlfriend had a customer do the 'lay 5 dollar bills on the table and take one away whenever your coffee is a later than you expect" thing. Even funnier as we're in Toronto and they were using American ones. she took great pleasure in ignoring their table all meal and then when they began their 'well dear see you would have gotten this much but' speech she informed them that five dollars would have also have been a poor tip. I remember someone did this exact same thing on Cheers, and Carla did something reall funny, but I don't remember what.
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Jul 6, 2017 00:46
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I got a 15 cent tip on a 5$ bill at the bar last night. 3%. Literally a dime and a nickel. Thanks, buddy! E: this is from a customer who during smalltalk said he was trying to get a job as a bartender but it's hard with no experience.
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Jul 6, 2017 00:52
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one time a customer called me Line Hitler.
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Jul 6, 2017 01:11
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maskenfreiheit posted:i too enjoy beaming a list of my favorite restaurants straight to trump's nsa jk cash rules I usually pay with a card and write CASH in the tip amount and leave cash for the tip. Writing 0 feels rude as gently caress, and I don't like carrying enough cash to pay for an entire meal in cash.
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Jul 6, 2017 01:17
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Sibilant Crisp posted:one time a customer called me Line Hitler. After a while I figured that I wasn't paid enough to play Line Police. Whoever was in front of me got rung up and that was the extent of my involvement. Had a similar breakthrough about trying to catch shoplifters, and, indeed, anything that wasn't on my list of duties as described in the orientation materials. Made life a lot easier.
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Jul 6, 2017 01:24
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Catching shoplifters was more of a fun hobby than a job requirement. They're so dumb sometimes 
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Jul 6, 2017 01:35
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Kelp Me! posted:They're so dumb sometimes One guy we caught recently came in, didn't buy anything, and then went outside to sit on a bench directly outside the dep. My coworker who was on at the time waited for him to leave, and then stepped outside to take a very brief peak into his bag and oh what a surprise it's the 1.5L bottle of wine that only JUST went missing from the shelf! Weird... it's like half of what my department does is security detail. the minute someone odd looking comes through the door my manager points them out and starts watching them closely.
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Jul 6, 2017 01:49
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pixaal posted:I usually pay with a card and write CASH in the tip amount and leave cash for the tip. Writing 0 feels rude as gently caress, and I don't like carrying enough cash to pay for an entire meal in cash.
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Jul 6, 2017 02:15
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ArbitraryC posted:I always do this too, I dunno really why maybe just on the offchance someone nicks it or something before the waitress/waiter has a chance to pick it up themselves. See I do that for almost the same reason, but then I don't leave cash. I like to see the servers accuse each other and the bussers of stealing from them.
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Jul 6, 2017 02:23
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canyoneer posted:See I do that for almost the same reason, but then I don't leave cash. I like to see the servers accuse each other and the bussers of stealing from them. Wow, this is a pretty great idea.
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Jul 6, 2017 02:41
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Starman Super DX posted:One guy we caught recently came in, didn't buy anything, and then went outside to sit on a bench directly outside the dep. My coworker who was on at the time waited for him to leave, and then stepped outside to take a very brief peak into his bag and oh what a surprise it's the 1.5L bottle of wine that only JUST went missing from the shelf! Weird... this is why i always shop lift in a business suit
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Jul 6, 2017 03:53
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KomodoWagon posted:Plenty of vegans are smart enough to not fall for the gluten-free scam though i find this very hard to believe. like maybe 2 or 3 of them but definitely not plenty
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Jul 6, 2017 03:58
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pixaal posted:I usually pay with a card and write CASH in the tip amount and leave cash for the tip. Writing 0 feels rude as gently caress, and I don't like carrying enough cash to pay for an entire meal in cash. this is totally fine and the servers like it, they will happily pocket your cash tip and not worry about paying taxes on it
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Jul 6, 2017 03:59
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The Walrus posted:no way buddy. thats like 12 sandwiches a minute. get out of here with that crazy talk. Yeah way, we did a lot of business.
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Jul 6, 2017 04:09
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I actually like working retail because people have to literally trust me with their lives whereas in any other situation people look at me like I'm sketchy as gently caress. Because I am.
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Jul 6, 2017 04:48
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I guess the used book annex guy figured out that nobody was buying the good stuff at his off-the-internet prices over at Barnes & Noble. He literally moved everything up a sales tier. All the books are marked with a blue/green/red/yellow sticker. Up until this week, it was, in that order, priced as marked/50% off/75% off/$1.00 flat. This past Thursday went in and everything had been moved up a tier - the priced-as-marked is now 50% off, 50% is now 75% off, etc. It's pretty loving awesome and we've already been back 2 more times since Thursday. I managed to complete my David Sedaris collection with 3 books at $1 each; also picked up the 3 newest Star Wars books (including Thrawn which is still displayed up front in the "new bestesllers" section) for $8 each, the Welcome to Night Vale vol. 1 transcripts for $4, both Amy Sedaris coffee table books for $1 each... It's incredible. Doubly so because out of virtually any dumb vice or hobby I have, it is absolutely impossible for me to feel guilty about spending money on books, even if it's going to take me years to read them all. How can I feel guilty for buying books 
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Jul 6, 2017 04:52
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Sjs00 posted:I actually like working retail because people have to literally trust me with their lives whereas in any other situation people look at me like I'm sketchy as gently caress. Because I am. are you a pharmacist? because i can think of literally zero retail situations where my life is at stake, or really anything greater than "will i have this tchotchke now, or in 10 minutes at the closest competitor?"
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Jul 6, 2017 04:53
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JewKiller 3000 posted:this is totally fine and the servers like it, they will happily pocket your cash tip and not worry about paying taxes on it I always try to tip in cash for both delivery and restaurants. Even if the place doesn't gently caress around and the delivery guy/server gets the full amount, I know from experience how much more satisfying it is to leave your job with a wad of cash rather than the promise of a fat paycheck next week. Then again there was a good chunk of time where my nightly tips usually went straight up my nose, so I might be a bit biased. Never had an issue writing 0 instead of cash though, I don't think it's rude if you're leaving the cash in there with the check. I usually just draw a line instead of writing 0 but same concept.
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Jul 6, 2017 04:56
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JewKiller 3000 posted:are you a pharmacist? because i can think of literally zero retail situations where my life is at stake, or really anything greater than "will i have this tchotchke now, or in 10 minutes at the closest competitor?" Selling replacement batteries for CPAP machines is probably as close as I ever got, although judging from the panic in the voices of people buying Lightning cables you'd think "my iPhone is dead" was a terminal condition
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Jul 6, 2017 04:59
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Kelp Me! posted:I guess the used book annex guy figured out that nobody was buying the good stuff at his off-the-internet prices over at Barnes & Noble. He literally moved everything up a sales tier. All the books are marked with a blue/green/red/yellow sticker. Up until this week, it was, in that order, priced as marked/50% off/75% off/$1.00 flat. This past Thursday went in and everything had been moved up a tier - the priced-as-marked is now 50% off, 50% is now 75% off, etc. christ, now I might have to unironically buy books in your area for my summer class, being broke as gently caress and saddled with a twelve-hundred dollar car repair bill. had to kick-out a surly Guatemalan a couple nights ago. It was five minutes to closing and he wanted to buy a six and a twelve. I told him I would only sell him one or the other, because gently caress him, I'm closing up shop and not waiting around for his dumbass to buy something he could have gotten all day. then the next shift my borderline mentally retarded coworker throws a fit that I didn't tell her I was going on break because I had to send a customer to the register that she wasn't tending to (it's literally the only thing she's capable of. can you believe that she can't even face?) According to my dep. manager, she has a masters degree  . Not at all an atypical retail experience.
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Jul 6, 2017 05:08
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Kelp Me! posted:Selling replacement batteries for CPAP machines is probably as close as I ever got, although judging from the panic in the voices of people buying Lightning cables you'd think "my iPhone is dead" was a terminal condition Didn't you know??? iPhones are millennial pacemakers!
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Jul 6, 2017 05:10
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Kelp Me! posted:Never had an issue writing 0 instead of cash though, I don't think it's rude if you're leaving the cash in there with the check. I usually just draw a line instead of writing 0 but same concept.
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Jul 6, 2017 05:12
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spite house posted:I always write 0 and tip cash in case the person I'm tipping has a lovely boss who will come after them for it if they see "cash" on the tip line. you know, I've never written anything in the tip line after taking my receipt when I leave cash behind on the table. Is this something I should be concerned about? I don't know enough about the particularly industry, although I'm usually going to small sushi places and little diners, usually never big chain restaurants.
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Jul 6, 2017 05:15
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Starman Super DX posted:you know, I've never written anything in the tip line after taking my receipt when I leave cash behind on the table. Is this something I should be concerned about? I don't know enough about the particularly industry, although I'm usually going to small sushi places and little diners, usually never big chain restaurants. No because the risk/reward is too great. I went to a bar in Boston that an acquaintance was the GM of, and one of the bartenders added a number onto her tip (it was $4 tip for 4 beers, she added a 1 to make it $14). I called my credit card company to dispute it and a couple of days later the GM guy I knew told me that the CC company had literally called his bar, asked to talk to him, explained the entire situation and requested documentation, etc. He ended up basically having to fire her because they faxed him my signed copy of the receipt that I scanned for them when I talked to them.
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Jul 6, 2017 05:23
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