Applebee’s Waitress Fired For Sharing ‘I Give God 10%’ Tip Receipt
Applebee's Waitress Fired For Sharing 'I Give God 10%' Tip Receipt
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 2:08am
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Fascinating
Wow... I've been following this thing since the story broke, and it's incredibly interesting that even though, if you read carefully, you will realize that this pastor is a woman (that is, certain sources; note that Huff. Post never tells you the pastor's gender). However, nobody wants to emphasize it and some people apparently are oblivious to it.
Why is that exactly?
Even in the video, the male host refers to the pastor a few times as a she, but the rest of the time simply avoids pronouns and calls her "the pastor." Then, at the end of the video, the female host states, "That's between him (meaning the pastor) and God."
What do you make of all this?
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 10:10am
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Using "the Big Man" to stiff a server...
...the pastor (who has since been identified as Alois Bell...Bell, a pastor at Truth in the World Deliverance Ministries Church...
“[It was] a lapse in my character and judgment,” Bell said. "“My heart is really broken. I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”
Chelsea Welch, the waitress, was fired from Applebee's after the pastor (Bell) called to complain.
Welch was buying Pastor Bell's embarrassment. “If this person wrote the note, obviously they wanted it seen by someone," she said. “I’ve been stiffed on tips before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the Big Man used as reasoning."
~ distilled from Yahoo News, Jan 31 2013
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 11:10am
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I don't think there was a
I don't think there was a concerted effort to not identify the pastor as a woman. I think the story just unfolded. It doesn't matter either way. I think the female host at the end just didn't know the story and made the assumption it was a man ..
To me the bigger story is people not realizing that servers depend on the tips to make their money. I suppose I'm sensitive to it as my husband waited tables EARLY in our marriage - and while he usually made a decent wage there were so many people who would tip a couple bucks on a 100.00 tab (sometimes on an "all you can eat" beef rib night .. )
NOW - the waitress was way out of line posting it as well.
And to have the pastor write a note like that .. sad ..
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 3:04pm
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Public knowledge
NOW - the waitress was way out of line posting it as well.
And to have the pastor write a note like that .. sad ..
I'm far from being a young person, but I disagree with your claim that the waitress was out of line for posting the receipt. It may indeed have been against Applebee's rules (though I didn't see that in the article), and Applebee's is certainly well within its rights to fire her even if it wasn't a rule since it did embarrass a customer.
However, I think it was complete justice for the "pastor" to have her hypocritical behavior exposed. Church leaders are to have a good report among those *outside the church.* Such a leader should expect to be eventually exposed when acting like that -- "be sure your sin will find you out."
If that pastor had tried to stiff the restaurant, she would have been publicly arrested. I think it was well within the rights of the waitress to make public such rude behavior (realizing of course that there might be consequences from Applebee's).
I hope Applebee's gets enough requests to have her rehired that they will do so.
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 4:22pm
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Dave,
I agree with everything
Dave,
I agree with everything you said except the equation of not tipping to stiffing the restaurant. Paying the bill is a legal obligation, paying a tip is not. While I understand the pay situation for wait staff, it is still called a gratuity. I personally bristle at the establishments that post an automated gratuity, and I flatly refuse to patronize such. It's not that I am cheap, but that I don't like being bullied. If the store is really that concerned for its wait help, then they should pay them more.
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 5:12pm
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THEY should pay more?
"If the store is...concerned for its wait help, then they should pay them more."
Then the incentive to provide good service is gone. The gratuity is supposed to be (in a perfect world) a reward for providing good to excellent service.
"Forced" or "automated" gratuities for larger groups is standard procedure because of the extra work involved & usually the involvement of one or more servers.
The only failure here was the female pastor's lack of courtesy, lack of manners and arrogant comment. Plus, if I wanted to get all spiritual, she used God as an excuse to be cheap. Wouldn't that be using His name in vain?
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 5:17pm
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Tips
Dave,
I agree with everything you said except the equation of not tipping to stiffing the restaurant. Paying the bill is a legal obligation, paying a tip is not. While I understand the pay situation for wait staff, it is still called a gratuity. I personally bristle at the establishments that post an automated gratuity, and I flatly refuse to patronize such. It's not that I am cheap, but that I don't like being bullied. If the store is really that concerned for its wait help, then they should pay them more.
Chip, I agree that they are not exactly the same, though it is well understood that wait staff make their money from tips, and that when one eats at a full-service restaurant, a tip should be factored into the cost, depending, of course, on the service. If the female pastor had gotten bad service, she should be writing that on the receipt, not about paying money to God instead, and then this whole situation would never have gotten this notice. If she was against the whole idea of paying tips, she should be eating fast food, or all-you-can-eat, or staying home.
And I actually agree with you about automated gratuities. If they are posted on the bill, then that's all the gratuity the wait staff gets. If I get good service, I usually tip more than that, but not when it's already included. Usually when that happens, it's because I'm with a large church group, and while I don't patronize establishments that have automated gratuities with just my family, I'm not so choosy when a group from church wants to eat out. And since it results in a smaller tip than I would normally give, usually it's a good deal for me.
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 5:47pm
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No, it does matter..
It doesn't matter either way. I think the female host at the end just didn't know the story and made the assumption it was a man ..
I disagree. It definitely matters. Not so much for the event itself, but it's a great example of how the media will massage the details of the story to produce a desired effect.
If it were known to be a woman, that would make the story more complicated; we would no longer have the stereotypical images in our minds to flesh out the particular roles. Thus the story would lose power as one of the many "corrupt and hypocritical pastor" tales that so easily glide into the news to help construct the accepted narrative.
I can almost promise you that she were a man, the pronoun (he/him) would not have been avoided. Don't you find that somewhat significant?
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 6:37pm
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the waitress will get another job easily
the reason this caught press so much is some sanctimonious jerk tried to give a pious defense for being a tightwad while all everyone else could think of was mr. pink in reservoir dogs. it doesn't matter whether the preacher was a man or not. she/he was way out of line. if she wants to be pious, give God more. don't stiff the waitress. whatever happened to generosity? (Ps 112:5 (HCSB), Pr 11:25, Pr 22:9, Lk 11:41 (NIV))
i guess there's no automatic linking for douay-rheims, so if you're interested in some fun, check out proverbs 11:25 in that version.
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 8:04pm
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@Chris C ... on Prov 11:25
Well that is interesting. Bet those priests who tap into holy wine appreciate it!
Fri, 02/01/2013 - 8:21pm
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I think everyone's in
I think everyone's in agreement that the customer was wrong...
Also - while automatic gratuities can be annoying .. I don't worry about them. Rarely have we had service that we would pay less then 18% .. generally our tip is closer to 20% .. We often tip above and automatic gratuity - especially if we have a large group. (I can't think of anywhere we've been where it's been added on for less than a group of 8 or so)
From a business standpoint I can see why the waitress would have been let go. It was POOR customer service period. It reflected poorly on the restaurant. Customer service is seemingly non existent in today's society. It's a pet peeve of mine... Was in either retail or the travel business for years, and am not sure when "the customer is always right" attitude died.
I don't understand the need to publish every little slight - whether it be something like this - or whining on Facebook.
Sat, 02/02/2013 - 9:54am
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Sense of violation
While this customer was very wrong and has reaped what they've sown, the waitress was also out of line to publish a receipt with the customer's name on it. There's a feeling of violation of privacy about that. We hand our debit and credit cards to wait staff and cashiers, viewing it as a private transaction. The idea that someone might make a copy of what we ordered/purchased and publish it is placed in our minds because of what she did, It's a bad idea to give people the feeling that their transactions won't be protected by restaurant staff or even a retailer...KWIM?
Sat, 02/02/2013 - 2:54pm
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Easton wrote: "If the store
"If the store is...concerned for its wait help, then they should pay them more."
Then the incentive to provide good service is gone. The gratuity is supposed to be (in a perfect world) a reward for providing good to excellent service.
"Forced" or "automated" gratuities for larger groups is standard procedure because of the extra work involved & usually the involvement of one or more servers.
The only failure here was the female pastor's lack of courtesy, lack of manners and arrogant comment. Plus, if I wanted to get all spiritual, she used God as an excuse to be cheap. Wouldn't that be using His name in vain?
Workers should provide good service, whether or not they are receiving a tip or not. When I work, I do my best, because that is right before God, and because that is what I was hired to do. I do not make much money(I am a custodian), but you don't see me bad-mouthing clients or murmuring behind their backs. I am grateful to have a job, and that I can provide for my family.
Sat, 02/02/2013 - 6:06pm
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It's an Ayn Rand thing...
"When I work, I do my best, because that is right before God..."
I learned long ago you can't expect others to treat you like you want to be treated. Therefore, you need a selfish incentive; hence, the gratuity -- or the possibility of one.
It's an Ayn Rand thing.
Sat, 02/02/2013 - 9:36pm
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Easton wrote:The only failure
The only failure here was the female pastor's lack of courtesy, lack of manners and arrogant comment. Plus, if I wanted to get all spiritual, she used God as an excuse to be cheap. Wouldn't that be using His name in vain?
Or perhaps it's just par for the course, witness this video of her "ministry."