Overcharged

One day last week, I took Shelley to a nice local restaurant. We got some really good service and the food was great - as it always is at this particular place. Had a great time.

This evening, I checked my bank account against my check register and found a discrepancy. The entry for our night out was $10 too high. Thirty five dollars was all of a sudden $45. I called the restaurant and talked to the manager, and he told me to come down to get it straightened out. He said if one of his people are stealing, he'd fire 'em. When I got there, he went into his office and made a print-out of the credit card transactions that day. The entry for our meal showed a $14 tip! I have never, ever left a tip that high. That was almost the price of one meal! As it turned out, a $4 tip somehow came across as much more - as if somebody "accidentally" put a "1" in front of the 4.

I told the manager that I would hate to see anybody get fired, and asked that if this employee has never been a problem before, to show some mercy - but at the same time, I understood that he had to do what's best for his company. I am convinced that he will check it out before taking action, as it could have been an honest error/type-o, or whatever.

The end result is that they take care of their customers. They made it right with me, at a generous rate of twice the error. I put up a little bit of argument, as it was not necessary to refund more than the erroneous amount. He insisted because of my inconvenience and having to make the trip, etc.

Always be sure to keep accurate records when using a credit/debit card for purchases. Up until now, I have shredded all my card receipts to prevent ID theft. Now I will keep them until I confirm the amount with my bank. Online banking is a blessing.

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