said by ODYSSEY :

Older credit card software actually will add a fixed percentage (estimated tip) to the total for authorization (hold). If an actual tip is not inputted, then in three business days after the terminal is settled the original total is charged.

This method protects the merchant, because otherwise if the amount of the tip is not available, then the merchant normally eats the cost.

When a DEBIT card is processed most banks immediately remove the amount authorized, then credit any difference back.

said by JoelC707 :

Must have been lucky the manager handled it like that or it was the "corporate" training that helped. I went to a recently opened "mom and pop" restaurant here in Atlanta a few years ago and like you I paid the meal on my card and the tip in cash. Also like you I found the transaction on the card was higher than what it should be, about 18% worth or the amount of a fairly average tip. I discovered it that night when I checked my balance online (paid with a debit card actually) and immediately went back up there.

Now to clarify the waiter knew about the cash tip before the card was swiped so it wasn't an honest mistake. Do you know what the manager told me? He told me that banks see it comes from a restaurant and automatically add in 18% for the tip amount. I promptly spit out the word "bullshit". The manager basically said that by the time it actually posts (I took up a print out of the bank statement and the slip) it would be the correct amount. He wasn't very helpful at all but the next time I went there I noticed the waiter was no longer there. The restaurant has changed hands a few times since then so who knows if the manager was really the one behind it to help pad his bottom line.

said by JoelC707 :

Must have been lucky the manager handled it like that or it was the "corporate" training that helped. I went to a recently opened "mom and pop" restaurant here in Atlanta a few years ago and like you I paid the meal on my card and the tip in cash. Also like you I found the transaction on the card was higher than what it should be, about 18% worth or the amount of a fairly average tip. I discovered it that night when I checked my balance online (paid with a debit card actually) and immediately went back up there.

Now to clarify the waiter knew about the cash tip before the card was swiped so it wasn't an honest mistake. Do you know what the manager told me? He told me that banks see it comes from a restaurant and automatically add in 18% for the tip amount. I promptly spit out the word "bullshit". The manager basically said that by the time it actually posts (I took up a print out of the bank statement and the slip) it would be the correct amount. He wasn't very helpful at all but the next time I went there I noticed the waiter was no longer there. The restaurant has changed hands a few times since then so who knows if the manager was really the one behind it to help pad his bottom line.

said by krazyboi :

Funny you mention this. The last time I went to Olive Garden in Austin my card was charged an extra $10. We left a nice cash tip on the table and the waiter added the extra money after we left. I ended up calling the manager and he didn’t seem surprised.

said by Father JackH :

While you are not responsible for charges you haven't made, you are most certainly responsible for accounting for any unauthorized charges that appear on your card statement

said by footballdude :

Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks for lunch. $4.95. Unlimited refills.

Other than that, there's no reason to ever walk into an Olive Garden.

said by removed :

Lately? :uhh: Olive Garden was never that great to begin with.

said by tower29 :

I am never responsible for charges that I don't make so I can care less if my card leaves the room.

said by tower29 :

Cards that do hold the consumer liable for those charges should be cut up and trashed......

said by Phil :

Because he was probably trying to find the card he accidentally lost. It does happen you know...

said by ilikeme :

He did not even come back to the table for at least 5-10 minutes.

said by insomniac84 :

If it wasn't ran yet, I hope you told them that was the only form of payment they you had. And if it was charged, I hoped you did not sign the check since they returned the slip without your card.

said by Greg_Z :

So, you did not realize that OG or Darden Restaurants have gone in the pisser lately.

said by dvd536 :

Probably all the help grabbing their own personal swipes of your card.

said by Jahntassa :

Yes, I know identity theft is real and you'd be more sensitive to it if you had it done to you once, but honestly the chance of having someone skim your card has got to be pretty damn low.

said by ilikeme :

This happened at the Memorial City location. I will not be returning to it or any other location.

said by removed :

The Olive Garden has always failed to deliver -- the food is expensive and mediocre, and service is almost always lousy. I always find it strange that the parking lots are full every time I drive by the location near my house. :huh:

said by removed :

The Olive Garden has always failed to deliver -- the food is expensive and mediocre, and service is almost always lousy. I always find it strange that the parking lots are full every time I drive by the location near my house. :huh:

said by removed :

The Olive Garden has always failed to deliver -- the food is expensive and mediocre, and service is almost always lousy. I always find it strange that the parking lots are full every time I drive by the location near my house. :huh:

said by removed :

The Olive Garden has always failed to deliver -- the food is expensive and mediocre, and service is almost always lousy. I always find it strange that the parking lots are full every time I drive by the location near my house. :huh:

said by Jahntassa :

Do you know how many people die in car accidents these days?! Who would be stupid enough to get in a car? Or smoke? Or drink alcohol? Or even breathe!

said by Jahntassa :

Yes, I know identity theft is real and you'd be more sensitive to it

said by Jahntassa :

if you had it done to you once, but honestly the chance of having someone skim your card has got to be pretty damn low.

said by Jahntassa :

Thousands of transactions have gone through my cards since i've gotten them and i've NEVER had a problem with an unauthorized charge showing up.

said by Jahntassa :

Seriously, there's paranoid and there's 'sensible'. If my card disappeared like that I would certainly not return to that restaurant, and I would have it out with the management. I would also talk to Visa/Mastercard/whoever about that particular facility about said event.

said by Jahntassa :

However I have never seen someone walk with their card to the register, and honestly it has to be a statistically low possibility that someone would actually skim cards.

said by CurtesyFlush :

Out of all the good restaurants in Houston you have to go to Olive Garden? *sniff*

said by Father JackH :

You know, I can't believe that people are still stupid enough to let their credit card out of their sight in this day and age.

said by dvd536 :

Probably all the help grabbing their own personal swipes of your card.

said by Rombus :

The manager did nothing? Seriously screwed up! I would write to consumerist.com and let olive gardens corporate offices know about it too.

said by ilikeme :

I talked to the waiter and the manager. The card is on my moms account and so she also called and complained a lot to the manager also. The waiter said that it must have fallen out but he could not find it. I was kind of suspicious with how long it took him to come back when my friend and I gave him the cards to pay. He did not even come back to the table for at least 5-10 minutes.

said by XPAMD :

Your card came up missing? So did you confront the waiter, Did you confront the manager? Did you call the police and file a report?

I'd be raising Hell, and asking for paradise in return!