Although somewhat controversial, automatic gratuity is common for large groups. One LongHorn Steakhouse customer, however, says something more sinister happened during a family dinner.
In a video that has garnered over 13,300 views, TikTok creator Jennifer (@exclusivelyjen) says she got “scammed” by a server at the restaurant chain.
“Longhorn steakhouse servers scamming customers,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.
Then, she goes on to explain what happened. “I went to eat dinner with my family. Family of 17. We sat down, dined, and had dinner,” she begins. “Our server seemed normal.”
According to Jennifer, they only found out something was wrong after the meal. “We were shook when we checked our bank statements and saw that it was more than what we had written down and had on a receipt,” she says.
She says the group split their bill across five checks, with some family members covering part of her portion.
“She tipped herself extra on those three out of the five,” she says.
Jennifer claims the added amount was consistent across multiple payments.
“Three checks… $20 on each and every one of them,” she says.
She Says She Left A Review And Wants A Response
She wonders whether this is a pattern for the server. “Now I’m thinking maybe she’s doing it to every person that night,” she says. “Maybe she’s doing it every time that she works.”
Jennifer says she left a review about the experience. “Best believe I did go and give her a bad Google review,” she says.
She also called on the restaurant to address the situation.
“I would like Longhorn to see this and respond and, I don’t know, fix it,” she says. “Hire better servers. Make sure they’re not stealing from their customers.”
She ends the video with a warning. “Don’t go there… their servers are scammers,” she says.
Commenters Share Advice As Jennifer Offers Update
In the comments, some viewers suggested there could be explanations behind the charges.
“Even if you pay and tip separately all checks will have a auto gratuity at 18%.” one person wrote.
“I work at longhorn and one of our servers did the same thing. Definitely got fired.” another said.
Others pointed to how pending charges can appear higher at first.
“Some cards automatically pre approve 20%. Then it drops off when the charge goes through after pending. You should have called the restaurant & they could have verified the tip amounts the server entered & corrected it if there was an error. It’ll probably drop off,” a third wrote.
Jennifer responded with an update.
“We called & she actually didn’t turn in any of the receipts that night, but they pulled up on the pos our meals in and then on one of my sisters tab she put in a togo order charged an extra $40 and they refunded us completely each and every one of us that got charged extra than what we originally paid that night,” she wrote.
Does LongHorn Steakhouse Do Automatic Gratuity?
Automatic gratuity used to be more common at large chain restaurants, but that changed years ago.
According to a 2013 report by Kaufman Financial, Darden Restaurants, the parent company of LongHorn Steakhouse, got rid of automatic gratuity after an IRS rule change. Under the updated rule, automatic tips would be treated as service charges, meaning they would count as regular wages. That means restaurants are required to pay additional payroll taxes on those amounts.
That lines up with what some workers say. In a post on Reddit’s r/longhornsteakhouse, one user wrote, “Longhorn does not do auto grat, and i used to hate that as a server. because people then take advantage of, NOT tipping/tipping $5 and it truly sucks.”
@exclusivelyjen @Longhorn Steakhouse smh.. #longhornsteakhouse #redflag
BroBible has reached out to LongHorn Steakhouse via email and Jennifer via TikTok messages for comment.