The Sketchy Tipping Strategy Texas Roadhouse's Customers Are Noticing

Few things in the dining world can stir a debate as quickly as tipping. This practice, which is almost uniquely North American, is lauded by some as a way to help hospitality workers and derided by others as an unfair attempt by businesses to avoid paying their employees properly. You don't have to look far on social media to discover heated discussions about whether it's mandatory or for exemplary service only. Texas Roadhouse is drawing the ire of many customers with its habit of suggesting a gratuity after taxes have been calculated.

The whole point of a tip, despite tipping's storied history, is that it's meant to acknowledge service given. Whether that was food and drinks or the customer service of the restaurant employees, that is what's being compensated with a tip. Taxes are a mandatory government fee not related to the service. That money is paid to the government, so asking a customer for a tip on money charged by the government and unrelated to the products or service is a bit shady and unfair.

Some might argue that this isn't technically a big deal. Let's say you have a $100 bill, and 8% tax is added. If you're tipping 20%, you just went from a $20 tip to $21.60. That's a fairly small increase, but that's not the problem. That extra $1.60 should never have been part of the bill, so it's considered shifty. And, in a world of rising inflation and anger at tipping culture, this hurts employees most.

In 2025, the province of Quebec in Canada made it illegal for restaurants to calculate tip suggestions based on post-tax totals. Businesses there can no longer try to persuade you to tip a certain amount, either. This has been an issue for years, and in some cases, businesses aren't even aware that the POS system they use is calculating tips on post-tax totals. People often just look at the numbers and accept them.

Another practice that has been confusing some diners at Texas Roadhouse is how tips are calculated on discounted meals. One TikTok discussed a two-for-$50 deal that suggested a 22% tip of $21. The diner pointed out that this amount is actually over 40% of a $50 meal. However, Texas Roadhouse is calculating tip percentages based on pre-discount prices. So it's actually based on a $100 tab, not $50. The theory here is that the server is still doing the work of serving you $100 worth of food, even if the final bill is less. This practice seems to be preying on the idea of guilt tipping and forcing you to accept a restaurant's suggested tip.

According to a survey from WalletHub, nine in 10 Americans feel like tipping culture has gone too far. Unscrupulous practices at restaurants that make it hard to figure out how much you should tip or what the money is for only make it worse. These tactics will discourage people from leaving tips. It's not the restaurants that suffer. It's the employees who aren't involved in any of these decisions. Regardless, it now seems like failing to inspect your bill carefully is another mistake you might make at Texas Roadhouse.