Waitress fired after posting receipt of pastors complaint about tip.

[powderman]

Waitress fired after posting receipt showing pastor's complaint about tip  Published February 01, 2013
FoxNews.com   

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  A waitress who posted a receipt with a note from a pastor complaining about the automatic gratuity added to her bill has reportedly been fired from her job.
Chelsea Welch, who was terminated from her job at a St. Louis-area Applebee’s on Wednesday, told Consumerist.com that she posted the note from Alois Bell as a “lighthearted joke” and had no clue the story would end up going viral.
“I thought the note was insulting, but it was also comical,” she told the website. “I posted it to Reddit because I thought other users would find it entertaining.”
Bell, a pastor at Truth in the World Deliverance Ministries Church, scratched out the automatic 18 percent tip (for parties of more than eight) and wrote a “0” where the additional tip would be indicated.
 
“I give God 10%,” Bell wrote. “Why do you get 18?”
Bell, a mother of three who heads a 15-member congregation, later called Welch’s manager to complain that her snide note was publicized, ultimately resulting in the waitress' firing.
“[It was] a lapse in my character and judgment,” Bell told the Smoking Gun. “My heart is really broken … I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”
An Applebee’s spokesman told Consumerist.com that the company apologized to Bell for violating her “right to privacy” and confirmed that Welch is no longer employed by the franchise.
“I am expected to portray a canned personality that has been found to be least offensive to the greatest amount of people,” Welch told the website. “I come home exhausted, sore, burnt, dirty, and blistered on a good day. And after all that, I can be fired for ‘embarrassing’ someone who directly insults their server on religious grounds.”
Welch added: “I’ve been stiffed on tips before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the Big Man used as reasoning."
 
Now without a job, Welch said she’ll focus on finding another gig so she can pay for college.
“In the meantime, hopefully I can find a job that pays more than $3.50/hr,” she told Consumerist. “Or where people are willing to tip well.”
A Facebook page called "HIRE BACK Chelsea" has since been created in support of Welch. As of midday Friday, more than 4,500 visitors backed Welch, including some who indicated they will boycott Applebee's.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/01/waitress-fired-after-posting-receipt-showing-pastor-complaint-about-tip/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2JhnjrYPo

[yellowtail3]

Kind of embarrassing, a pastor stiffing the wait staff

[Brett]

I don't like being told how much I have to tip my server either.  That should be my decision based on the performance of my server. 

By the way, in most instances I will tip 20% of my check if I get excellent service so by telling me I have to tip 18% they are shorting themselves.

[Shu]

The rest of the story is the woman was part of a large party and knew the restuarant had a 18% gratuity for large parties. She split checks up but paid the entire bill wanting to avoid the 18%.
Sure we need to be good stewards ofour money but this woman seems a bit slimey to me. Envoking the name of God to avoid a tip for the large party when she knew better.
 
I tip for the service I get, I don't use excuses if it was bad service I let the server know. If it was great service the server knows also.

[tobster]

I read another account of the story that said Welch wasn't even the server that took care of the preacher nor was she the waitress that got stiffed on the tip. It stated that Welch was aware of Applebee's policy of confidentiality. Sounds like the "preacher" was a cheapskate but there might have been a reason. I know I wouldn't want my receipt put on the internet.

[RevJim]

 Regardless of who it is..."if you can't afford the Tip, you can't afford to eat out".  God's people ( minister or laity) should be examples of generosity, not examples of being poverty minded. I have no sympathy for the so-called Minister here.

[powderman]

YEP, preacher was a cheapskate. Personally I hate MANDATORY tips, I avoid going anywhere that demands xtra money whether deserved or not. A tip should be a reward for good service, not a gimmee. How much of the mandatory tip does the waitress get?? All of it?? maybe 1/2?? POWDERMAN. 

[351 power]

i saw that posted on yahoo and thought the pastor threw away thier wittness for afew dollars. as you say they didn't have to go there to eat.

[mechanic]

Last time I looked the calendar said 2013, and like it or not, added gratuities have been the norm since last century.  If I get exemplary service, I usually add a bit, not take it away.
 
Most people don't realize how much a waitress makes without tips.....
 
Ben

[guzzijohn]

Ask waiters and waitresses and most will tell you that the worst shift to work work is Sunday lunch as church goers as a group are the worst tippers. Not a good witness.
GuzziJohn

[Mike in Virginia]

I agree Guzz.  Church goers (most, not all) have already grudgingly put money in the plate at church that morning.  They figure that's enough giving for one day.  I say if you can't give away money willingly and cheerfully, the Holy Spirit is not in you. 
Still, bad service by a waitress his her own fault and should not be rewarded, IMO.  Sometimes good service is not possible due to heavy customer traffic and a too light restaurant service.  Not her fault then.  We ought to tip as much as we can gladly tip, and no more.   

[guzzijohn]

Years ago I was in a Waffle House and due to no show employees there was one waitress and one cook and they were they only ones there working. They both were working there rears off and doing a good job. The cook even got a call from the local PD that his teen daughter had been picked up on something. His response to the cops was that he was way to busy do do anything about it now and she would just have to sit it out at the police station. I gave both of them tips that were more than the meal.
GuzziJohn