'Sundays Are The Worst' Website Urges Christians To Tip Better

My son waited at an Outback for about six months last year in a southern city known for its large Christian population. (Three guesses…) He said the reputation of Christians as poor tippers is known far and wide, and he saw it himself. Sunday was notoriously the worst day for tips - servers didn’t even want to work Sunday lunch because of the poor tipping of the church crowd. We have learned a valuable lesson from that and try to always tip generously now.

My husband suggested the other day that perhaps unsaved people tip so well because, since they have more discretionary income due to no tithing/giving, it salves their conscience a little to be generous to servers.

I tend to tip based on the actual performance of the worker, and how much they actually had to do. I also tip relative to the base cost on the bill, not including taxes which are outrageous in my state. Taxes go to the government, not the eating place.

[Darrell Post]

I also tip relative to the base cost on the bill, not including taxes which are outrageous in my state. Taxes go to the government, not the eating place.

Yeah….and its this kind of thinking that gives Christians a bad name. “How little can I get by with…?” It reminds me of people who are constantly asking whether or not they should tithe ‘before or after taxes”. Seriously….is it going to kill you to add 30 cents more onto a tip for service from a single mom or a college student? Just go to McDonalds if you are that hard up. Good grief.

I’ve heard this story for years (Christians are bad tippers) and I’m not sure I buy it. But if it IS the impression, I do three things to counter it – 1) I let them know in advance that I’m a Christian and I’ll be tipping them generously; 2) I then tip them generously — 15-20% regardless of service because at that time, it is no longer about the service but the reputation of Christ and 3) I do NOT leave them some tired/cliche gospel tract…instead, I engage them in conversation and look for the opportunity to invite them to church….something they are more willing to consider because I told them up front who I was and what I was about and what I was going to do.

And for the sake of the cause of Christ — PLEASE NEVER leave one of those insipid tracts that look like a $100 bill. It’s the equivalent of giving someone you care about one of those fake winning lottery tickets for Christmas. Tacky and classless. IMHO they rank right up there with Jack Chick tracts…but that’s a different rant.

Probably the biggest issue with tipping is inconsistency.

• We (my wife and i) went out last Thursday for dinner (our first dinner out for 2014). We ate at a nice Thai restaurant near our home. My wife left a 19% tip (she paid while I got the car). Seemed high to me but did not make a matter of conversation.
• When I say, it was our first dinner out, we have Papa Murphy’s every Friday night, and every other week or so we will buy fast food and bring it home: Could be Jimmy John’s, Wendy’s, or recently Qdoba (might not be a national chain).
• About the inconsistency: what makes the Nong’s server (the Thai restaurant) more deserving of a tip than the fast food workers (who are basically making $ 9.00 an hour (essentially minimum wage in the Twin Cities) ?

Recently in the dead of Winter, we had a low tire on our Buick. It was bitterly cold and messy out. On the way home from work, I drove into the Lupient Buick GMC service area. It was about 5:55 pm and they were closing up. The auto garage door opened up for us and we drove in but there was no one around. I honked my horn and a young man came out to meet us. I explained our situation and he found another man who filled up all four of our tires. To me this was really service (end of day … no appointment …. messy, cold, wet, icy car … et cetera). I offered to pay and they declined and then I pulled out a $ 10 for the man who filled my tires. I tried to push it on him with my thanks but he steadfastly refused. This event to me is the epitome of service!

As an aside:

• If Christians are poor tippers (and it sounds anecdotally that we are), shame on us!
• In my view (and this is a preference thing and even with that not absolute for me!), I think it is best to NOT eat out or shop on the Lord’s Day. Let it be a day of rest and worship for the worker too! (Same with Thanksgiving!). Our exceptions is that several times a year we end up traveling on Sunday and we stop and buy gas, meals, and stay in a motel on the way.

I recently had a conversation with a laborer who was in my home. He is a member of a sister church. While he was there the issue of pastors’ salaries came up.

I said something like “our pastor is worth $ 100,000 per year”. (I know what he does and the responsibilities he has)

He said, “Does your pastor make $ 100,000 per year?”

I responded that I didn’t know

He is apparently in a position to know and he said that his pastor’s salary package was $ 60,000 per year. And he thought that was too high.

Observation: The laborer at my home probably makes less than $ 60,000. From his perspective his pastor was not worth a salary greater than his.

my friend in high school was a waitress and they called Sundays “Dollar Day.” So ever since then, I’ve tried to tip more, though I don’t do it consistently. Helps if I mentally calculate it into the cost of going out to eat.

In our culture, it’s customary to leave a tip of 15-20% for adequate service at a sitdown restaurant where someone comes to you to bring food, fill drinks, and see if you need anything. People that don’t do this are considered tightwads, skinflint’s, and regarded as someone pretty close to Ebenezer Scrooge. The servers know what is customary and they do pay attention and they do talk about it.​

Tipping is part of the cost of the meal in our culture. If you can’t afford the tip, you can’t afford to eat out. If the server knows we are Christians, it does reflect poorly on Christ when we don’t tip. If you’re not going to tip, don’t let anyone see you praying over your meal, but instead take out and read your pocket-sized edition of a Richard Dawkins book.

“About the inconsistency: what makes the Nong’s server (the Thai restaurant) more deserving of a tip than the fast food workers (who are basically making $ 9.00 an hour (essentially minimum wage in the Twin Cities) ?”

The difference is that the Nong server is only making between $6-7 an hour as a Minnesotan tip employee.

FYI - the pizza delivery person is only making $4 or so, at least, Papa John’s paid me $4.30 an hour on the road. But the delivery person is usually spending 20-30 minutes per delivery while the waitress is waiting 6-8 tables that turn over every hour. Pizza guy is lucky to get 3 customers an hour while the waitress has twice that. Also, the pizza guy has to own and maintain a car, with proof of insurance, to even get hired after which he pays $3.30 a gallon (here in AZ) for gas while working in the elements. The waitress on the other hand works in a climate controlled environment where she can walk, bike, carpool or ride the bus to work. All I’m saying is, take care of your pizza guy too, or go get your own pizza.

We had a huge snowstorm / blizzard on Feb 21st. How bad was it?

• My small John Deere tractor w. plow could not handle the depth (didn’t help that there was no where to push it either!)
• Blowing wet snow covered my cold air furnace intake w 4’ of snow. Furnace would not run. I had to have a guy come out and dig that out
• We ordered Papa John’s pizza at 2:30 for delivery at 6:00
• I was really really surprised the guy made it. (We gave him a nice tip AND a Gospel of John)

With kids and others in the food service industry, let me make a couple of anecdotal observations:

1) Most of the “Christians are bad tippers” rap is more perceptual than real, and the non-tipper is the anomaly

2) Expected tipping is 15%-20% in our area; the Sunday crowd will likely be closer to 15% with exceptional service tipped closer to 20%

3) Tips in large part are down at Sunday lunch/dinner due to the meals being more low-end and much less alcohol being involved

As I mentioned, anecdotal only.

Frankly, I have no issue with tipping to the low end of the normal scale. Like working on commission in any job, exceptional performance should expect more, and average performance should not be rewarded above average.

Tips in large part are down at Sunday lunch/dinner due to the meals being more low-end and much less alcohol being involved.

That is a good point. One can tip a fairly high percentage, but if you order waters for your family instead of soft drinks, lets say, the tip will obviously be smaller.

I wonder, too, how much of this is more a Southern phenomena. We rarely eat out on Sundays, and I think that is true of much of my congregation. I know that is not the case from the times I lived in places like Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia. Restaurants are virtually packed there every week. But maybe my experience is isolated. Thoughts?

As someone who worked a lot of foodservice jobs, I always try to remember to tip well. When you live in a smaller town and cross paths more often, something like that can make a much louder initial statement than any gimmicky tract one might leave (not that it’s wrong to leave tracts).

Can someone please explain how leaving a poor tip reflects poorly on Christ? I always leave at least 15% but is it really a bad witness if I don’t? Is something that is “customary” “necessary” or else my witness is bad? My wife grauduated nursing school (RN) with a woman who decided not to get a nursing job because she makes more waiting tables. Good for her but I think it is a bit of a generality to suggest that every waitperson is struggling to survive.

It’s a matter of expectations and reputation. When I lived in Maine and worked in a restaurant as a teenager, the waitresses hated it when we got buses with Canadian shoppers… because as a rule, they never left a tip! Apparently, in Canada they automatically include it in the bill. If people know you are a Christian, and yet you cannot conform to a societal norm like this, it might be considered akin to cutting loose with bodily functions, or talking loudly on a cell phone in a quiet waiting room. Not exactly sin, but it gives you an unwanted reputation, and can even cause people to avoid you for matters within your control. Articles like this tell us that there is a perception problem. We know as Christians we already have several of those in this culture. Some may be out of our control- but this one is not. In this specific area, there is a stereotype of the Christian who leaves tracts with reduced or nonexistent tips. I don’t think that helps make people any more inclined to receive the gospel. Countering that by building a reputation for generosity is no guarantee, but it certainly won’t turn people off.

Thanks Greg I guess it makes sense but I wouldn’t stress it too hard myself.