Waitress fired after posting controversial pastor receipt

Onkel Neal · 02-01-13, 11:05 AM

http://blog.chron.com/hottopics/2013...ipt-on-reddit/

Quote:

St. Louis pastor Alois Bell, disagreed with an 18 percent gratuity charge added to her Applebee’s bill, and let it be known on her receipt, writing “I give God 10% why do you get 18″

I don't know, maybe it because the Almighty didn't bring you an omlette with toast and the waitress did. Cheap stiff

Maybe he should give God 20%...

AVGWarhawk · 02-01-13, 11:09 AM

I pay 20%. I figure these folks struggle like anyone else. If the service is poor I pay 15%. 15% is the standard here in MD.

Sailor Steve · 02-01-13, 11:10 AM

It's funny, but I grew up being told the standard tip was 15%. Supposedly Utah's are known for being lousy tippers. I try to make up for it by figuring 20% and then rounding up to the nearest whole dollar. I dislike built-in gratuities, so I always make sure the bill says 0% and leave cash on the table. If I ever went to an Appleby's the server would lose money on the deal.

Takeda Shingen · 02-01-13, 11:11 AM

I also tip 20%. Waiting is hard work, and work that requires you to deal with a lot of customers that will be rude simply because they feel that they are better than you. So, I have empathy for people in the job.

Onkel Neal · 02-01-13, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

I also tip 20%. Waiting is hard work, and work that requires you to deal with a lot of customers that will be rude simply because they feel that they are better than you. So, I have empathy for people in the job.

Yeah, my tip varies between 15% and 20%, except at my favorite diner, where I blow 25% on a meal tip.

Well, after reading more of the story, it is heartening to learn that the pastor (a woman?) was very contrite about her action. Still doesn't help the waitress who lost her job.

Sailor Steve · 02-01-13, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

So, I have empathy for people in the job.

For my group of friends that empathy extends to joking with the servers and complementing them, and when we come back again they are always glad to see us. Of course it doesn't hurt that after we've collected the money and figured out the tip sometimes we'll say "Hmm. That only leaves me with two dollars in my pocket. What am I going to spent that on? I guess I'll toss that on the table too."

Armistead · 02-01-13, 11:35 AM

I had a favorite waitress beside where I once worked for 22 years at the IHOP. I think she worked there 27 years. Sadly, she got cancer around age 60 and had to quit, but several of us got together started a fund and paid her small house off. I loved that lady. My office window faced the back of IHOP not two feet away, almost connected. I could call and she would bring me coffee through the window.

Sailor Steve · 02-01-13, 11:41 AM

Armistead, that reminds me of an experience I had many years ago. We had a local restaurant with an upstairs that could be rented for parties. The large group of friends I had at the time held a birthday party for one of us. We only had one poor girl taking orders for about thirty of us, and she did a great job. When it came time to go they sent three more people up to help clear the tables. We all left a tip, but then one of our party pointed out that there was a chance that it would be divided among the four of them. She convinced us all to pitch in what we could, and I'm betting she collected at least $100. As we were leaving she said "We're betting you'll have to share the tip with the others, so this is for you." The girl almost cried.

AVGWarhawk · 02-01-13, 11:51 AM

Recognition of a job well done goes a loooonnngggg way.

Wolferz · 02-01-13, 11:56 AM

Not very Christian of that Pastor was it?

I once left a C note on the table for a favored waitress who was struggling to buy clothing for her many children. The restrauteur of that establisment only paid his wait staff around a buck sixty an hour which seems to be the norm in most places.
I always leave a decent tip for good service and sometimes a yankee dime to boot. Waitresses really remember that.

Done it from one side of America to the other and parts of Canada too.

August · 02-01-13, 11:56 AM

I've been known to tip breakfast waitresses 100% of the bill. No food server works harder except perhaps bar maids and they tend to get far more tips.

It always irritates me to see another patron figure out 15 or even 20% of a 10 buck breakfast. Especially when she'd been by to refill his coffee cup a half dozen times.

Skybird · 02-01-13, 12:09 PM

A tip that is mandatory part of the regular bill and is even printed on the bill, is no tip. The practice is uncommon, if not unknown in German bars and restaurants. I would not tolerate such places myself, and never go there again. I have heard that staff depends on these payments in America due to their employer paying them so badly by norm. And that is where the problem lies hen: unhealthy business practices and the cost of the employed staff. Fair wages for fair work, that must be the formula.

The few occasions where I go to a restaurant (in Germany) anymore, I base the tip on performance, how I was treated, and the situation in general. I am more generous when I liked the stay. I give nothing when I am pissed. Usually it ends with rounding up generously. But roughly 15% is the utmost maximum. Heck, lets' leave it in relation!

Not that I go into restaurants that much anymore.

NeonSamurai · 02-01-13, 01:19 PM

In Canada the tip rate is lower, usually 10-15% I've found. But the minimum wage for waitresses is higher.

As for deserving tips, I am of mixed minds as I use to work places like that, but in the kitchen. Most of the places I worked, the waitresses made 3-10 times as much as we did due to tips (which in most places I worked, were not shared at all), and I would say that our work was harder then theirs.

Breakfast shift does suck though.

Gerald · 02-01-13, 01:41 PM

I always give a tip, even if it is included in all services in this country, If I pay by card, I will give the waiter or waitress first in hand, to avoid unnecessary taxes, and usually located tip of 15-20 percent, if no hassles spirit arises,

Stealhead · 02-01-13, 01:53 PM

In the US the minimum wage and therefore all wages payed to servers are lower the the standard minimum the reason is because a portion of their earnings is supposed to come from tips.

These days a lot of guests tend to refuse to pay tips even when the server performed well or even very well.For this reason many restaurants add an automatic gratuity to larger parties it always says this on the receipt(which the one that the pastor left the note on so they did pay the tip anyway).They place the message on the receipt so that the customer can choose to pay the server an additional tip above the automatic gratuity.

There are certainly crappy servers out there but there are also a lot of very good ones that do deserve a fair tip.People usually do not realize that a server is managing several tables at one time so if they are doing very good job they are putting a lot of effort into it.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

food service wage the 3rd raw is what the person gets from the employer.The federal minimum is $2.13 in other words a huge amount of their earnings are from tips no matter how long they have worked somewhere becuase as thier wage goes up it is still going to much lower than someone that started at the standard minimum wage.

How many people get a much better guaranteed wage but put little effort into their work yet have no fear of not earning due to lousy performance?

02-01-13, 11:09 AM	#2
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I pay 20%. I figure these folks struggle like anyone else. If the service is poor I pay 15%. 15% is the standard here in MD. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-01-13, 11:10 AM	#3
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	It's funny, but I grew up being told the standard tip was 15%. Supposedly Utah's are known for being lousy tippers. I try to make up for it by figuring 20% and then rounding up to the nearest whole dollar. I dislike built-in gratuities, so I always make sure the bill says 0% and leave cash on the table. If I ever went to an Appleby's the server would lose money on the deal. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

02-01-13, 11:35 AM	#7
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	I had a favorite waitress beside where I once worked for 22 years at the IHOP. I think she worked there 27 years. Sadly, she got cancer around age 60 and had to quit, but several of us got together started a fund and paid her small house off. I loved that lady. My office window faced the back of IHOP not two feet away, almost connected. I could call and she would bring me coffee through the window. __________________ You see my dog don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it.

02-01-13, 11:41 AM	#8
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Armistead, that reminds me of an experience I had many years ago. We had a local restaurant with an upstairs that could be rented for parties. The large group of friends I had at the time held a birthday party for one of us. We only had one poor girl taking orders for about thirty of us, and she did a great job. When it came time to go they sent three more people up to help clear the tables. We all left a tip, but then one of our party pointed out that there was a chance that it would be divided among the four of them. She convinced us all to pitch in what we could, and I'm betting she collected at least $100. As we were leaving she said "We're betting you'll have to share the tip with the others, so this is for you." The girl almost cried. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

02-01-13, 11:51 AM	#9
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Recognition of a job well done goes a loooonnngggg way. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-01-13, 11:11 AM	#4
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	I also tip 20%. Waiting is hard work, and work that requires you to deal with a lot of customers that will be rude simply because they feel that they are better than you. So, I have empathy for people in the job.

02-01-13, 11:56 AM	#10
Wolferz Navy Seal Join Date: May 2007 Location: On a mighty quest for the Stick of Truth Posts: 5,963 Downloads: 52 Uploads: 0	Hypocrits SUCK! Not very Christian of that Pastor was it? I once left a C note on the table for a favored waitress who was struggling to buy clothing for her many children. The restrauteur of that establisment only paid his wait staff around a buck sixty an hour which seems to be the norm in most places. I always leave a decent tip for good service and sometimes a yankee dime to boot. Waitresses really remember that. Done it from one side of America to the other and parts of Canada too. __________________ Tomorrow never comes

02-01-13, 11:56 AM	#11
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 23,197 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I've been known to tip breakfast waitresses 100% of the bill. No food server works harder except perhaps bar maids and they tend to get far more tips. It always irritates me to see another patron figure out 15 or even 20% of a 10 buck breakfast. Especially when she'd been by to refill his coffee cup a half dozen times. __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.

02-01-13, 12:09 PM	#12
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	*A tip that is mandatory part of the regular bill and is even printed on the bill, is no tip.* The practice is uncommon, if not unknown in German bars and restaurants. I would not tolerate such places myself, and never go there again. I have heard that staff depends on these payments in America due to their employer paying them so badly by norm. And that is where the problem lies hen: unhealthy business practices and the cost of the employed staff. Fair wages for fair work, that must be the formula. The few occasions where I go to a restaurant (in Germany) anymore, I base the tip on performance, how I was treated, and the situation in general. I am more generous when I liked the stay. I give nothing when I am pissed. Usually it ends with rounding up generously. But roughly 15% is the utmost maximum. Heck, lets' leave it in relation! Not that I go into restaurants that much anymore. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

02-01-13, 01:19 PM	#13
NeonSamurai Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Socialist Republic of Kanadia Posts: 3,044 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	In Canada the tip rate is lower, usually 10-15% I've found. But the minimum wage for waitresses is higher. As for deserving tips, I am of mixed minds as I use to work places like that, but in the kitchen. Most of the places I worked, the waitresses made 3-10 times as much as we did due to tips (which in most places I worked, were not shared at all), and I would say that our work was harder then theirs. Breakfast shift does suck though. __________________ SH3 Newbie Guide Links and other helpfull stuff

02-01-13, 01:41 PM	#14
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	I always give a tip, even if it is included in all services in this country, If I pay by card, I will give the waiter or waitress first in hand, to avoid unnecessary taxes, and usually located tip of 15-20 percent, if no hassles spirit arises, __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

02-01-13, 01:53 PM	#15
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	In the US the minimum wage and therefore all wages payed to servers are lower the the standard minimum the reason is because a portion of their earnings is supposed to come from tips. These days a lot of guests tend to refuse to pay tips even when the server performed well or even very well.For this reason many restaurants add an automatic gratuity to larger parties it always says this on the receipt(which the one that the pastor left the note on so they did pay the tip anyway).They place the message on the receipt so that the customer can choose to pay the server an additional tip above the automatic gratuity. There are certainly crappy servers out there but there are also a lot of very good ones that do deserve a fair tip.People usually do not realize that a server is managing several tables at one time so if they are doing very good job they are putting a lot of effort into it. http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm food service wage the 3rd raw is what the person gets from the employer.The federal minimum is $2.13 in other words a huge amount of their earnings are from tips no matter how long they have worked somewhere becuase as thier wage goes up it is still going to much lower than someone that started at the standard minimum wage. How many people get a much better guaranteed wage but put little effort into their work yet have no fear of not earning due to lousy performance?