Asked To Write Down How Much You "give" The Waiter

[Jingthing]

I was recently quite surprised at a semi-decent restaurant (plus plus service already included) when the bill came.

The waitress requested that I write down "how much I give waiter" on the printed check. Also on the check was large type text indicating the same thing, but I don't actually recall the exact wording. There was also a prominent blank BOX in which to write the amount.

Anyway, this being the first time I have encountered this request, here or anywhere in the world, I totally misinterpreted what was being asked.

I thought she was asking me to write down how much I was going to TIP. I realized later she was asking me to write down the amount of money I was putting in the check so that I would receive the correct change. Clearly this is done to prevent "misunderstandings" when people put 1000 baht down and get change back as if they put down 500, and vice versa.

Anyway, like I said, I totally misunderstood. In some countries it is customary to TELL the waiter how much you are going to tip by for example putting down 1000 on a bill of 600 and saying bring me back 300 change in effect telling the waiter to keep 100. I thought this request was something like this, but I know this is Thailand and not the custom, and also I was annoyed to be asked this when an automatic service charge was already included.

So here is where it gets a bit comic. I REFUSED to write anything. I said, "I am not going to do that, just bring me back ALL my change." The waitress practically had a coronary. Maybe I was first customer ever to not understand the policy and/or refuse to comply with the request. However, I don't regret it as I feel the policy was not properly explained either by her or the text on the bill, and you can't expect customers to read minds.

In fact, if I had written down my intended TIP, which in this case was ZERO because service was already included and I didn't approve of the service anyway, it would have been even more bizarre. Because in the box I would have put ZERO which based on their system would mean that I was not paying the bill at all! That would have been hilarious, almost wish I had done that.

Of course, now I know what they were up to. Is this a common practice now in Thailand? I am OK with it now that I understand what it was, but on the other hand it is kind of rude, implying:

-- we don't trust you not to lie about what money you put down

-- we don't trust our waiters/cashiers not to lie about what you put down

-- we aren't as polite a restaurant as you thought

Edited June 10, 2009 by Jingthing

[babuhavas]

according to me this new system is okye..

avoides confusion and conflicts,

ya harsh notes was rude,but what we have to do with it?

eat,write your amount ,pay and done

[longstebe]

That would have got me all confused too (doesn't take much).

Bet ya the waiter was thinking some bad things.

Thats the second thread today got me laughing though.

[BigSnake]

For me it all depend on the SERVICE

[Jingthing]

according to me this new system is okye..

avoides confusion and conflicts,

ya harsh notes was rude,but what we have to do with it?

eat,write your amount ,pay and done

Sure, next time I will now that I know what they are asking. As I didn't understand and they just assumed their policy was understandable, I am also OK with how I reacted the first time. It was actually kind of funny, and no real harm done. This particular place, I don't plan on returning there anyway for a variety of reasons.

BTW, the moment I realized what their policy actually was and how I had totally misunderstood it was when the waitress returned with the change and SHE had filled in the blank box. Of course, I realize she was only doing her job as required to get that box filled.

Edited June 10, 2009 by Jingthing

[sanook2me]

Beyond the initial confusion sounds like a great idea...no more confusion between hassled staff and drunks

stoppit..surely you jest......

hang on.... no more i was short changed posts...

[JetsetBkk]

So, basically, this is a case of a farang thinking he is being scammed/ripped off/extorted when in fact it was exactly the opposite.

I will make no other comment.

[Crossy]

Seems like a smart move, once it's understood what is required

I too, would have thought it was a tip box like you find on some credit card slips

[Jingthing]

So, basically, this is a case of a farang thinking he is being scammed/ripped off/extorted when in fact it was exactly the opposite.

I will make no other comment.

I simply did not understand their policy and thought they wanted me to write down a tip and I refused because I thought that was a rude thing to ask when putting down cash. It did remind me of the common ploy of the waiter standing over you while you may give a tip, my usual reaction to that is NO TIP or SMALL TIP as that is very rude and annoying. I never thought it was a scam or a rip off but it is true I thought they were trying to pressure me into tipping, that is not the same thing as being extorted, now is it? So your accusation is wrong on ALL counts.

BTW, I admitted I was wrong about my initial interpretation of this practice. I guess being honest on this board is invariably dissed.

Again, I never thought this was extortion. If you are going to make accusations, please use the correct words. Pressured would be more apt.

Noun 1. extortion - an exorbitant charge

overcharge - a price that is too high

2. extortion - unjust exaction (as by the misuse of authority); "the extortion by dishonest officials of fees for performing their sworn duty"

exaction - act of demanding or levying by force or authority; "exaction of tribute"; "exaction of various dues and fees"

3. extortion - the felonious act of extorting money (as by threats of violence)

felony - a serious crime (such as murder or arson)

blackmail - extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting information

tribute, protection - payment extorted by gangsters on threat of violence; "every store in the neighborhood had to pay him protection"

shakedown - extortion of money (as by blackmail)

Edited June 10, 2009 by Jingthing

[PeaceBlondie]

The technical term in commercial English may be 'amount tendered' - not a common phrase.

[Jingthing]

The technical term in commercial English may be 'amount tendered' - not a common phrase.

I am pretty sure most people using English as a second language would scratch their heads about that one. It would have probably worked for me though ...

Again, no apologies about my misinterpretation. When a waiter says write down how much you GIVE waiter, it still sounds to me like amount of tip. Giving means you are not getting it back.

Back to the OP, have people noticed this practice out and about, or was this place very unusual? Like I said, I was a first timer.

Given the language issues here, if I was a manager implementing this policy I would instruct waiters to hold up the bill, for example 1000 baht, and say 1000 baht, correct? and then have the waiter fill in the blank box with the customer looking. People in general are not used to being required to fill in any paperwork for a cash purchase.

Edited June 10, 2009 by Jingthing

[eek]

Haha, poor jingthing, first the food court thing, now this one. Bad run!

Well, I would have thought EXACTLY the same as you, that i was being asked how much for the tip, and i would have been just as surprised/offended.

Well, im glad of the heads up, in case it ever happens!

[mahtin]

I'd be interested to know whether Thais get the same bill, or is this another anti-farang scheme

[HagenvonTronje]

The waitress practically had a coronary.

i am sure later she wrote a long report about you at the thai-waitress-and-grumpy-falang-customer dotcom forum.

So, basically, this is a case of a farang thinking he is being scammed/ripped off/extorted when in fact it was exactly the opposite.

I will make no other comment.

yeah, i guess they got sick off this complaining 'falangs'. certain customers just come to create stress, the complainers are always the same people and maybe also the same type of people. there isn't only bad service , there are also customers with ugly habits. with some insights in human nature you can see beforehand which person will cause trouble.

so for this 'i was short changed by thai scaming cheater service staff' complaint they developed a counter tactic. but grumpy old men are hard to please.

"A person who is nice to you, and mean to the waiter, is not a nice person."

[Jingthing]

I'd be interested to know whether Thais get the same bill, or is this another anti-farang scheme

The place in question is oriented towards foreign tourists so I doubt they get many Thai customers. The text next to the blank box was in ENGLISH only. I do not consider their policy a scheme of any kind. I do consider it poorly communicated to people not familiar with it. If you are a business and you are going to do things so very differently than the norm, you best figure out a way to explain the policy adequately to customers.

yeah, i guess they got sick off this complaining 'falangs'.

How totally biased. Has it occurred you that one of the reasons they may instituted such a policy was that sometimes indeed it is the Thai staff that do lie about the amount of cash money tendered? Their policy, though poorly communicated, protects against errors and thievery from both customers and staff.

i am sure later she wrote a long report about you at the thai-waitress-and-grumpy-falang-customer dotcom forum.

Funny. I can assure that my reaction was purely a result of my complete misunderstanding of what this waitress said to me which was reinforced by what was written on the check. There was no intention to upset her though that was the result (I am not responsible for her reaction). I was well within my rights to refuse to cooperate with their policy as I had understood it. If they had communicated it properly, there would have been no problem.

"A person who is nice to you, and mean to the waiter, is not a nice person."

I don't see how you think your comment is related to this topic, which is about a misunderstanding of an unusual business policy, not niceness or meanness.

However, as long as we are talking about that more general subject, I agree with that completely except in cases where the waiters are rude to us. For example, that hovering thing that so many do at tip time, that deserves a SLAP, not a tip.

Edited June 10, 2009 by Jingthing

[CharlieB]

I was recently quite surprised at a semi-decent restaurant (plus plus service already included) when the bill came.

The waitress requested that I write down "how much I give waiter" on the printed check. Also on the check was large type text indicating the same thing, but I don't actually recall the exact wording. There was also a prominent blank BOX in which to write the amount.

Anyway, this being the first time I have encountered this request, here or anywhere in the world, I totally misinterpreted what was being asked.

I thought she was asking me to write down how much I was going to TIP. I realized later she was asking me to write down the amount of money I was putting in the check so that I would receive the correct change. Clearly this is done to prevent "misunderstandings" when people put 1000 baht down and get change back as if they put down 500, and vice versa.

Anyway, like I said, I totally misunderstood. In some countries it is customary to TELL the waiter how much you are going to tip by for example putting down 1000 on a bill of 600 and saying bring me back 300 change in effect telling the waiter to keep 100. I thought this request was something like this, but I know this is Thailand and not the custom, and also I was annoyed to be asked this when an automatic service charge was already included.

So here is where it gets a bit comic. I REFUSED to write anything. I said, "I am not going to do that, just bring me back ALL my change." The waitress practically had a coronary. Maybe I was first customer ever to not understand the policy and/or refuse to comply with the request. However, I don't regret it as I feel the policy was not properly explained either by her or the text on the bill, and you can't expect customers to read minds.

In fact, if I had written down my intended TIP, which in this case was ZERO because service was already included and I didn't approve of the service anyway, it would have been even more bizarre. Because in the box I would have put ZERO which based on their system would mean that I was not paying the bill at all! That would have been hilarious, almost wish I had done that.

Of course, now I know what they were up to. Is this a common practice now in Thailand? I am OK with it now that I understand what it was, but on the other hand it is kind of rude, implying:

-- we don't trust you not to lie about what money you put down

-- we don't trust our waiters/cashiers not to lie about what you put down

-- we aren't as polite a restaurant as you thought

I had exactly the same thing happen in a restaurant a couple of weeks ago. We asked for the check and the waitress brought the little bill folder over. I looked at the amount and put a 1000baht note in the folder. The waitress then pointed to the bottom of the bill and said something about write amount down. I wondered what the hel_l was going on and thought as you did that she was asking me to write down how much I was giving in a tip. My initial reaction was, cheeky ****ers, I'll tip what I decide to tip when I get the change back. The wiatress obviously saw I was unsure of what she was on about and spoke to my wife, who then explained to me. This is the first time I have ever been asked somethign like that in a restaurant in Thailand, or anywhere else in the world. I take this to mean that the restaurant doesn't trust it's own staff, or has had a series of incidents where customers have disputed their change.

[Pierrot]

In China, they now recommend you to write down the serial number of the notes you give. Lately there was so many complains that the waiter comes back telling you that your notes are fake when he's actually the one who exchanged your good notes against fake ones.

[longball53098]

This relates to a sports bar/restaurant in Naklua that has the wait staff write down on the backside of the check the "amount tendered" and circle it and point to it and have the customer acknowledge this is what they gave them.

Avoids confusion when the change comes back I think.

[Jingthing]

This relates to a sports bar/restaurant in Naklua that has the wait staff write down on the backside of the check the "amount tendered" and circle it and point to it and have the customer acknowledge this is what they gave them.

Avoids confusion when the change comes back I think.

Now IF a business is going to do this, and I don't have strong feelings about it either way except it is kind of crass, that is the way to do it! The way not to do it was what happened to me, having a waitress tell me to write down how much money I "give waiter" which I unfortunately took literally.

Edited June 11, 2009 by Jingthing