BUZZFEE: Applebee's Server Gets Stiffed By Pastor Who Gave Her Tip To God, Promptly Gets Fired By Applebee's

[No_Pressure]

My two best friends on the planet are black, I remember when I was out at a diner with them and picked up the check. The food was something like 30 dollars and I slapped a 5 down on the table as we were getting up. They were like...hey don't you wanna get some change?

I was like...umm...what? Why would I want change?

"Because you're leaving a 5 on a 30 dollar order..."

That's only a 16% tip, I'd usually leave a 6 but I don't have an extra 1...

"ONLY 16%??? (they were both laughing/shocked) I don't think I've ever tipped 16% in my whole life!!!"

Dude, 15-20 is a decent tip...what do you think is a decent tip?

"They all start out at 0. We only tip for great service. If they do things like bring another water without us having to ask, and not leave us sitting on empty for too long, if the order goes in and comes out perfectly, if they're stopping by to check on us frequently but not too frequently (they had even more specific criteria which I've since forgotten)...if they do those things, they work their way up to 10% and if they're really lucky MAYBE 12%...if we have some change on us"

Ten percent? Also, are there restaurants where you tip nothing for average service? Like they get you a drink but you had to ask for a refill, suddenly they don't get a tip?

"Hell yea, why should they get a tip if their service isn't good?"

You do understand that waitresses make like...2-3 dollars per hour. They don't apply to minimum wage laws because it's a ****ty job and the only way to get enough people to fill it is to promise them tips which will bump their wage up over the minimum...tips aren't really optional.

"A tip is what it's called...a tip...it's extra. If you do a good job, you get a tip. I don't see why this girl deserves 5 dollars. There wasn't anything amazing about her service."

She gets 5 dollars because she spent the past half hour bringing **** to us like a ****ing servant and catering to our every whim.

"Yeah well we paid for that in the bill"

No, we paid for the price of our food, and a combination of the salary of the owners, managers, cooks, and yes- waitresses. I understand not tipping for horrible service, or tipping poorly for bad service, but she did a fine job. Sure she didn't suck your dick or whatever, but she earned that regular wage. She deserves 5.

"Na man, couldn't agree with you any less on this."

Jesus christ, it's true what they say about black people being the worst tippers

"Hah, **** you man, maybe its cause we did work for free for hundreds of years!"

Haha alright ****er, don't worry about it anyway cause it's my 5 dollars. I guess if I have to look like a sucker to you, I'll look like a sucker!

We had a laugh and left. Didn't speak of this again. I felt like I was in a bizarro world Reservoir Dogs or something.

[dfitzo53]

No offense, but church people and black women (look at the pastor's photo) are notorious in the waiting business as some of the absolute worst tippers.

Years ago waiting tables, on Sundays there was almost always some church goer who would tip with a Jesus pamphlet instead of actual cash.

That being said, there are things to legitimately discuss and be concerned about with this story and the reflection on pastors in general isn't one of them. How about throwing some concern the waitress' way?

I don't doubt any of that. It's too bad for the waitress too, but Applebees didn't really have a choice. You can't go around posting financial documents with signatures on them, which is really what a receipt is.

As far as things to legitimately discuss, the most I can do is shrug. We're reading an article on the internet and posting on a Redskins message board. Is there really a topic that's off the table?

[mmzznnxx]

I feel bad for the waitress. I wonder if the coverage of this lady being such a bad tipper will spread so much so servers will refuse to serve her if she wanders into their restaurant. Not to mention her wanting everyone fired for one person's action.

I wouldn't blame any restaurants/servers for a second for "blacklisting" her or other notoriously bad tippers.

[elkabong82]

Holy crap. So it was pointed out the "pastor" runs a 15 member church out of her store, most members are family too. So it could be a con to avoid taxes, but more importantly, that "10% given to God" really goes to her "church" aka right back in her own pocket. This isn't a pastor representative of a real church, this is just a low life person scamming religion and using religion to scam others. She's already been scamming Uncle Sam, why not waitresses to boot? What a low life.

"I give 10% to myself, I'm not giving you $6 for good service."

[Hitman21ST]

I used to work at a cracker barrel and boy were sundays ever the worst day to work. I would get a huge black church group who would spend well over $100 and get a couple $1 bills as tip. These people usually weren't very courteous either, they were always really needy and complained about every little thing. I once had a steak sent back 3 times because once it was too salty, the next time it wasn't salty enough, and the 3rd time it just "didn't taste good". I just find it so strange that the churchgoers would usually be the most rude and tip the least. Not very christian like

That is deplorable. Hopefully this will help restore a little bit of faith in churchgoers, but generally when I go out (any day, not just Sunday) I try to be overly generous in my tipping. I'll normally try to tip about 25%, if the service is great I even go as high as 33%. Minimum service gets about 15. Bang was spot on though: 10% of total income is VASTLY different than 18% of a dinner check.

[Kosher Ham]

I am wondering what God spends that 10% on ?

My guess is the Pastor counts time is money, and that equals the 10% ? Maybe ?

Sad.

[Hitman21ST]

I am wondering what God spends that 10% on ?

My guess is the Pastor counts time is money, and that equals the 10% ? Maybe ?

Sad.

Are you talking in general, or just in this specific instance?

Because the answer to your question is rent/mortgage, bills, maintenance, inreach/outreach (helping parishioners in need with expenses), pastor's salaries, and the like.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

"God is all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing and all-wise...somehow -- JUST CAN'T HANDLE MONEY!"

[KCClybun]

A long time ago my mom told me that it was best to pay at least 15%. It's to the point where I hate not leaving a tip. Maybe it's because I come from retail, but they're making even less than me as far as dollars-per-hour go. Unless the surface is terrible I always try to play that 15%, and if I can afford it I try to pay more. Hell, there's been a couple times where I've had horrible service and still tipped well. I don't see the point in being an *******.

This pastor should be ashamed of himself. My dad is a pastor, he's had tough financial times, and he STILL tips well. There's literally no excuse not to. This guy was a jerk, plain and simple. He's a cheapskate, and saying he gives 10% to God and therefore shouldn't have to pay is a miserable excuse to get out of doing so.

[Hitman21ST]

A long time ago my mom told me that it was best to pay at least 15%. It's to the point where I hate not leaving a tip. Maybe it's because I come from retail, but they're making even less than me as far as dollars-per-hour go. Unless the surface is terrible I always try to play that 15%, and if I can afford it I try to pay more. Hell, there's been a couple times where I've had horrible service and still tipped well. I don't see the point in being an *******.

This pastor should be ashamed of himself. My dad is a pastor, he's had tough financial times, and he STILL tips well. There's literally no excuse not to. This guy was a jerk, plain and simple. He's a cheapskate, and saying he gives 10% to God and therefore shouldn't have to pay is a miserable excuse to get out of doing so.

Totally agree, but the pastor in question is female.

[thebluefood]

I'm not a religious guy myself but /r/atheism is usually just a big circle jerk.

Not a huge fan of reddit in general.

OMG LE UP VOTE! EPIC MEME!

Bleh.

[ncr2h]

My opinion is that there are far too many restaurants that have waiters. Applebees is a restaurant that should not have a wait staff, or at least it should be optional. When you have rock-bottom prices, but still have a wait staff, you simply encourage stuff like this to happen. You draw in the type of clientele that isn't looking to spend that extra money on "service". And at the end of the day it pisses everyone off - servers are pissed because they thought they got less money than they deserved, and clients are pissed because they have to pay extra for a service that they would probably be more than happy to do all by themselves.

Waiters should be reserved for restaurants where they can actually provide useful input as to what is on the menu. At Applebees, it aint no damn mystery what you're going to get - a hamburger, a steak, some pasta, etc. This isn't rocket science. Save the waiters for high-end restaurants where the menu changes frequently, or there are special high-end ingredients or unique flavors.

[Burgold]

I hope this pastor is fair in all her dealings and wrote the same exact thing on each of her IRS forms.

[mrcunning15]

My opinion is that there are far too many restaurants that have waiters. Applebees is a restaurant that should not have a wait staff, or at least it should be optional. When you have rock-bottom prices, but still have a wait staff, you simply encourage stuff like this to happen. You draw in the type of clientele that isn't looking to spend that extra money on "service". And at the end of the day it pisses everyone off - servers are pissed because they thought they got less money than they deserved, and clients are pissed because they have to pay extra for a service that they would probably be more than happy to do all by themselves.

Waiters should be reserved for restaurants where they can actually provide useful input as to what is on the menu. At Applebees, it aint no damn mystery what you're going to get - a hamburger, a steak, some pasta, etc. This isn't rocket science. Save the waiters for high-end restaurants where the menu changes frequently, or there are special high-end ingredients or unique flavors.

The counter argument to that is that there is a certain segment of the population that can't afford high-end restaurants and would enjoy an affordable dining experience that Applebee's provides that yes I get that at places like applebees the server isn't really integral part of the experience and probably the restaurant could be set up as self serve but if you do that it takes away value. Of course their model attracts cheapskates servers there now this to a degree but usually the good outnumber the bad when it comes to customers and tipping.

On a side note this lady really isn't helping to defeat certain stereotypes you know the one that Pastors do not tip well

[jobaga]

I am an over tipper because I have worked for tips. I never understood how people of all walks of life can treat others the way people in the service industry are treated. You don't want to tip then get your food to go and serve yourself at home...

[Chump Bailey]

I am an over tipper because I have worked for tips. I never understood how people of all walks of life can treat others the way people in the service industry are treated. You don't want to tip then get your food to go and serve yourself at home...

It's not just the food industry - it's prevalent throughout the country. We imbue apathy. We're an extraordinarily dysfunctional society by in large that treat one another horribly.

[Rocky21]

I was reading the OP I kept thinking show me a picture of this "pastor."

Suspicion confirmed. Sometimes stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.

If anyone has the stomach for it, this page has video of the pastor preaching.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/tipping-pastor-apologizes-687234#lightbox-popup-1

[Dan T.]

Let's just come out and say it. There is a culturally dysfunctional notion among many in African-American society that tipping is for suckers. Is it exclusive to blacks? No. Is it more prevalent among blacks? Ask someone you know who has worked for any length of time as a waiter.

[renaissance]

I don't understand why the pastor only gives god 10%....

[Kosher Ham]

It's more than just black people...it's lots of people.

It's just a thing of ignorance. Many people just don't know. I recall as a teen going out with some buddies, with our dates, to this Italian restaurant in downtown DC. Some of my buddies didn't know how to tip. It was something I learned as a little kid from my Grandmother. They asked me "is 5 bucks ok ?", I had to explain how it works.

---------- Post added February-1st-2013 at 09:02 AM ----------

I don't understand why the pastor only gives god 10%....

She likely doesn't.

[SteveFromYellowstone]

Let's just come out and say it. There is a culturally dysfunctional notion among many in African-American society that tipping is for suckers. Is it exclusive to blacks? No. Is it more prevalent among blacks? Ask someone you know who has worked for any length of time as a waiter.

I never believed it until I waited tables. Doesn't hold true 100% of the time but most of the time it did. It probably depends on the restaurant too and the area. I'm a pretty liberal guy but it just seems to me like a lot of my black friends were taught not to tip or tip very little.

[dfitzo53]

My opinion is that there are far too many restaurants that have waiters. Applebees is a restaurant that should not have a wait staff, or at least it should be optional. When you have rock-bottom prices, but still have a wait staff, you simply encourage stuff like this to happen. You draw in the type of clientele that isn't looking to spend that extra money on "service". And at the end of the day it pisses everyone off - servers are pissed because they thought they got less money than they deserved, and clients are pissed because they have to pay extra for a service that they would probably be more than happy to do all by themselves.

Waiters should be reserved for restaurants where they can actually provide useful input as to what is on the menu. At Applebees, it aint no damn mystery what you're going to get - a hamburger, a steak, some pasta, etc. This isn't rocket science. Save the waiters for high-end restaurants where the menu changes frequently, or there are special high-end ingredients or unique flavors.

So would that mean turning all relatively inexpensive restaurants into places like Fuddruckers where they put your order on a counter and you go pick it up? I'm actually not opposed to the idea, I'm just asking if that's what you mean. In some ways it does make things simpler.

[Larry]

Count me as "they should pay a decent wage and add it into the prices" category.

To me, what they're doing is simply fraud.

"We have 7 meals under five dollars! But, well, if you want something to drink with that, then that's three bucks more. And, well, you see, we don't actually pay our employees. So, well, you could just eat for five bucks, if you don't mind the waiter's kids going to bed hungry tonight. But it's completely voluntary. You don't have to pay more than the price we told you it was going to cost, if you don't mind us telling everybody on Facebook that you're an ***hole because you didn't voluntarily pay more than the price. Here, we'll even tell you how much we think you should voluntarily pay."

[Symbol]

Holy crap. So it was pointed out the "pastor" runs a 15 member church out of her store, most members are family too. So it could be a con to avoid taxes, but more importantly, that "10% given to God" really goes to her "church" aka right back in her own pocket. This isn't a pastor representative of a real church, this is just a low life person scamming religion and using religion to scam others. She's already been scamming Uncle Sam, why not waitresses to boot? What a low life.

"I give 10% to myself, I'm not giving you $6 for good service."

To add to this point, since she didn't want to pay a tip, maybe she should think this way, as a pastor, doesn't she get paid by her congregation? What if the congregation were to say something like, I pay the government in taxes, I'm not paying you 10% more. So what happens if they stop paying, isn't it the same as not tipping someone who's making LESS than minimum wage?

[gortiz]

I find it humorous that these minute happenings in our world are so magnified nowadays.

What the Pastor did was wrong, yes. The lengths some people will go just make me laugh.

so ... if this happens to your niece who's in college or one of the kids of your best friend, you would you still find this minute?! don't think so!

It's all about perspective man ... a lot of the people are really pissed off at this in this thread are former waitstaff, a few more are good tippers and are offended!