The sneaky way businesses are scamming you into leaving a bigger tip — don’t fall for it
Consider this a tip-off.
An expert is sharing the secret way businesses are attempting to squeeze extra cash out of their customers when they tip — and you shouldn’t fall for it.
Anger about leaving a large gratuity is surging amid “tipflation,” whereby touchscreens now suggest customers leave tips of up to 40%.
But one rep from the popular payment platform Square says that’s not the only way companies are trying to take your hard-earned pennies.
The Square spokesperson told Nexstar that some businesses sneakily include the sales tax when calculating the suggested tip– significantly raising the overall price of the recommended gratuity.
“Sellers decide whether tips are calculated before or after taxes,” the rep declared.
Etiquette experts at the Emily Post Institute advise tipping 15% to 20% on the pre-tax total at a sit-down restaurant.
They note that calculating the tip before or after the tax is included “can be quite different than the total,” particularly for large parties. And, depending on your state, you could be leaving close to 10% extra on your overall gratuity.
The etiquette experts also insisted there is no obligation to tip on to-go orders.
However, many do feel that tipping is mandatory, particularly when they’re prompted on a digital device.
Nearly 75% of Americans admitted to leaving higher tips when prompted digitally on devices like tablets or smart card readers, a new report from Forbes Advisor has revealed.
Meanwhile, just under one-third of Americans — 31%, to be exact — said they feel “pressure” to pay it forward, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “guilt tipping.”
But some places aren’t just relying on pressure, they’re making a good tip a requirement with some restaurants tacking on a mandatory gratuity of 18% or 20% to for parties of just one.
Jack Sinanaj, who owns three locations of Empire Steak House — in Midtown East, Midtown West and Times Square — previously told The Post he plans to start adding an 18% gratuity to parties of all sizes right after the holidays, pointing to international tourists who don’t understand the tipping culture.”
However other hospitality workers oppose the practice.
Kyung Il Lee, managing partner of Sagaponack, a seafood restaurant in the Flatiron, said he considered including a mandatory gratuity until his staffers told him that “most consumers will do 20 percent on the grand total.”
Meanwhile, American consumers have also been left irate in recent months by other fees that are snuck onto a bill like a “wellness charge” or “cost of living” fee. One brazen restaurant even added a “bad parenting” fee.
Elsewhere, sources told The Post about seeing tip jars pop up at unexpected places such as dry cleaners and hardware stores — businesses that they couldn’t have imagined asking for a gratuity in the past.
Even online businesses are asking customers to tip employees they never interact with.
