I’m not sure exactly when this started, but I’ve been seeing it with a lot more frequency these days. “It” is when you go to a nice restaurant (you know, the kind that has cloth napkins and different waiters for different things) and get your bill in one of those big leather wallet looking things, and when you put a credit card in it, the waiter/waitress takes the wallet and, get this…asks you to sign the bill at that point before processing your card! He/She then processes your credit card, and presents you with the receipt that you normally sign, the one that’s been processed by the credit card company and has a place for you to write in the tip.

When did this practice start, and more importantly, why do they ask you to sign the original check before they go and process your credit card, only to return and have you sign the processed one? I’ve never really worked in retail, so I can’t even make an educated guess. Anyone know why they do this and how come I’ve seen it more often in the last year?

Since we’re on the subject, maybe you guys could answer another question of mine in relation to credit cards and restaurants…when they process your credit card, I assume they get approval for the amount of the check. When they present the approved bill for you to sign, it is customary for the patron to write in a tip amount, total it up, and then sign for the new amount. How does that work in relation to the credit approval process? When they get the approval, do they just add 20% to make sure you can cover the tip? Does the credit card company allow that extra bit even if it might make you go over your limit?