Tipping and the Lord -- Hallelujah!

[kybearfuzz]

I'm surprised I've not seen more comments about this situation on LJ, but it's been burning up Facebook left and right. The story is here:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/tipping-pastor-apologizes-687234

In a nutshell, a church group goes to Applebee's and eats. The female pastor apparently is disgusted by the automatic 18% gratuity added to her check, crosses it out, and puts a message on it saying that she gives 10% to God, why does she [the server] deserve 18%? She then puts her total on the bill and signs her bill as "Pastor" and her name. Another server takes a photo of the bill and posts it on the web. As the story goes, she excluded the signature and name of the customer, but the pastor was notified by other members of her "church" and recognized her handiwork on the receipt. She calls Applebee's and supposedly demands they fire the whole staff, but only the one server who posted the image gets canned by Applebee's for "policy violations." Eventually, the name of the pastor comes out as well as her poor attitude. She apologizes for her "lapse in judgment," but nothing else.

Having waited tables before, I can tell you -- it's hard work. And sometimes customers are not the nicest people and putting up with it while smiling is a chore. The pastor is a bitch and I'm not sad she got called out on this. She exhibits everything I find wrong with those who call themselves "Christians."

However, I'm a bit torn when it comes to Applebee's and the firing of the server. As a customer, I wouldn't want my receipt posted on the net, though I have never given them a reason to do that. I think firing the server was extreme. It's bad PR for the company as evident on their Facebook page, the big bad restaurant ganging up on the server and siding with the bad customer.

Any thoughts on the situation? I'm curious.

Comments

[epinoid.livejournal.com]

When I saw it besides getting annoyed by the rudeness of the pastor I had to ask where exactly she though God's tip jar is (or bank account for that matter). I am amused she didn't understand that she already paid the tip anyhow. And frustrated that it looks like the check was subdivided to try and get around the large party included tip.

I have a little hesitancy around posting the signature, while I think the pastor should be ashamed for her actions and for trying to get everyone fired; she is now open to what could be an even more severe response. I don't want to see it escalate. Let her actions be the source of public shame and leave it at that.

John put Applebee's on the banned list years ago and I can't eat most of what they serve and don't want to eat most of the rest. I could contact Applebee's customer relations and threaten not eating there again but I wasn't going there before this incident as it is. So is it appropriate to try to make that kind of point with basically a bluff?

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Well, the purpose of this post wasn't to generate bad vibes toward Applebee's really. They made a major foul up here though, and I'm just surprised how they have mishandled the situation.

I suspect it will calm back down. I was reading an article by a blogger who has kept track of the whole situation. Apparently, Applebee's has posted photos of receipts with positive comments before, the exact reason they let the server go. Fun, isn't it?