Waitress fired for posting this online

whitneyps7

Im not a waitress or have ever been one but i do work in a feild where tips come into play. im a massage therapist. for example: today i had 3 clients today the first did not have anything but a 20 and some ones (btw i get 20s as tips all the time) i didnt have change to break it so i told him it was ok and not to worry about it, the second left me 5 and the thrid didnt leave anything, i understand but at the same time it kind of irritates me especially when i get 15 to 50 for one session from alot of clients. on the other hand i make more than 2.50 so it dosnt bother me as much so if i was a waitress making 2.50 and ppl didnt tip me id be pretty pissed but i wouldnt have made such a huge deal of it, maybe told my friends thats about it not put them on blast like she did. so my conclusion is: not right of him to leave her no tip, but also not right of her to publically display his s***.

i would tip for a massage but i hear people say that they look at it like a medical procedure. kind of like physical therapy...and nobody tips PTs/Drs. and especially if they are using their insurance then i can see how they could overlook that since you dont tip any other health providers. thoughts?

doctors and physical therapist are more for medial reasons, yes i do work with ppl who have injuries or diseses or conditions but im not a doc or physical therapist, but as a massage therapist is a pampering luxury thing like getting your hair done (cut color whatever) or your nails stuff like that its a luxury not a prociedure or exam lol thats how i think about it, it kinda sucks when i dont get tips but i dont get huffy and puffy and put all my clients on blast lol (well except just now just to make a point, also did not reaveal names or anything like that) but ya its ok id rather them at least come see me again to fix their issues even if they can only afford the base pay.

Laces_0ut

doctors and physical therapist are more for medial reasons, yes i do work with ppl who have injuries or diseses or conditions but im not a doc or physical therapist, but as a massage therapist is a pampering luxury thing like getting your hair done (cut color whatever) or your nails stuff like that its a luxury not a prociedure or exam lol thats how i think about it, it kinda sucks when i dont get tips but i dont get huffy and puffy and put all my clients on blast lol (well except just now just to make a point, also did not reaveal names or anything like that) but ya its ok id rather them at least come see me again to fix their issues even if they can only afford the base pay.

thats what i meant...if someone is going to you for pampering i think a tip should be expected...but if they are going to you for an injury and insurance is covering then its a medical procedure and i would think a tip is not necessary.

whitneyps7

doctors and physical therapist are more for medial reasons, yes i do work with ppl who have injuries or diseses or conditions but im not a doc or physical therapist, but as a massage therapist is a pampering luxury thing like getting your hair done (cut color whatever) or your nails stuff like that its a luxury not a prociedure or exam lol thats how i think about it, it kinda sucks when i dont get tips but i dont get huffy and puffy and put all my clients on blast lol (well except just now just to make a point, also did not reaveal names or anything like that) but ya its ok id rather them at least come see me again to fix their issues even if they can only afford the base pay.

thats what i meant...if someone is going to you for pampering i think a tip should be expected...but if they are going to you for an injury and insurance is covering then its a medical procedure and i would think a tip is not necessary.

depends on the person i guess ive seen insurance clients tip and some dont the way i think about it is the insurance is paying for it- if i get a free meal, free accupunture, free energy work, free service from someone due to coupon or insurance ect i tip. i got in a car accident and had whiplash my insurance covered for accupuncture and massage and i tipped cause they provided me with a service that was basically free to me so a few $$ out of my pocket isnt a big thing, im very generous with tippin and helpin ppl ill buy ppls lunch at the drive through behind me or coffee im jus a super nice generuos person. either way is fine with me but i know therapists who get mad when they get a 5 tip let alone nothing.

jr1985

doctors and physical therapist are more for medial reasons, yes i do work with ppl who have injuries or diseses or conditions but im not a doc or physical therapist, but as a massage therapist is a pampering luxury thing like getting your hair done (cut color whatever) or your nails stuff like that its a luxury not a prociedure or exam lol thats how i think about it, it kinda sucks when i dont get tips but i dont get huffy and puffy and put all my clients on blast lol (well except just now just to make a point, also did not reaveal names or anything like that) but ya its ok id rather them at least come see me again to fix their issues even if they can only afford the base pay.

thats what i meant...if someone is going to you for pampering i think a tip should be expected...but if they are going to you for an injury and insurance is covering then its a medical procedure and i would think a tip is not necessary.

depends on the person i guess ive seen insurance clients tip and some dont the way i think about it is the insurance is paying for it- if i get a free meal, free accupunture, free energy work, free service from someone due to coupon or insurance ect i tip. i got in a car accident and had whiplash my insurance covered for accupuncture and massage and i tipped cause they provided me with a service that was basically free to me so a few $$ out of my pocket isnt a big thing, im very generous with tippin and helpin ppl ill buy ppls lunch at the drive through behind me or coffee im jus a super nice generuos person. either way is fine with me but i know therapists who get mad when they get a 5 tip let alone nothing.

Granted I never get massages anyways, so when you aren't getting them, there isn't anyone to cheat out of a tip... but I honestly had no idea that tipping for a massage was even customary... Good to know if I ever get one... I knew it was customary to tip waitresses and drivers at the airport... but I guess I had just assumed that tipping would have already been included in the $75 or whatever the going rate for a massage would be, because even if the massage therapist only got half of what the price of a massage is per hour it would still be WAY more than I make an hr... Awesome for you! looks like I might need to switch professions

CassieReannan

I don't even understand... how do you give God 10%? Is God accepting credit cards now? Or serving lunch? There's no parallel. And obviously, the waitress didn't choose how the receipts are printed or to have the "auto tip" on there. That's just a bunch of self-rightous BS. IMO, that is ;-p

ETA: though I would have blacked out the signature, personally.

Agreed. Luckily here in Australia we dont tip anything and all receive modest wages! Sucked in merica.

darlilama

Reminded me of this upsetting picture:

HA! Reminds me of a friend I went out with to dinner one night. She gave the guy like $1 (I guess better than nothing). I can't remember the total of the bill. When another friend asked what was customary tipping now, I - having been the waitress in the past - told her. My "cheap" friend said "Well, I'm trying to raise a family and I don't have money to throw at other people." I don't have children (although we do support my MIL) and it was aimed in my direction. I just looked back at her and asked her if she thought the waitress might have a family she was trying to support, as well.

But, to the OP, if she'd just blocked out the signature, it would have all been cool. I feel bad for her!

whitneyps7

doctors and physical therapist are more for medial reasons, yes i do work with ppl who have injuries or diseses or conditions but im not a doc or physical therapist, but as a massage therapist is a pampering luxury thing like getting your hair done (cut color whatever) or your nails stuff like that its a luxury not a prociedure or exam lol thats how i think about it, it kinda sucks when i dont get tips but i dont get huffy and puffy and put all my clients on blast lol (well except just now just to make a point, also did not reaveal names or anything like that) but ya its ok id rather them at least come see me again to fix their issues even if they can only afford the base pay.

thats what i meant...if someone is going to you for pampering i think a tip should be expected...but if they are going to you for an injury and insurance is covering then its a medical procedure and i would think a tip is not necessary.

depends on the person i guess ive seen insurance clients tip and some dont the way i think about it is the insurance is paying for it- if i get a free meal, free accupunture, free energy work, free service from someone due to coupon or insurance ect i tip. i got in a car accident and had whiplash my insurance covered for accupuncture and massage and i tipped cause they provided me with a service that was basically free to me so a few $$ out of my pocket isnt a big thing, im very generous with tippin and helpin ppl ill buy ppls lunch at the drive through behind me or coffee im jus a super nice generuos person. either way is fine with me but i know therapists who get mad when they get a 5 tip let alone nothing.

Granted I never get massages anyways, so when you aren't getting them, there isn't anyone to cheat out of a tip... but I honestly had no idea that tipping for a massage was even customary... Good to know if I ever get one... I knew it was customary to tip waitresses and drivers at the airport... but I guess I had just assumed that tipping would have already been included in the $75 or whatever the going rate for a massage would be, because even if the massage therapist only got half of what the price of a massage is per hour it would still be WAY more than I make an hr... Awesome for you! looks like I might need to switch professions

i mean i guess its not customary (like getting massages nails hair ect) but its nice lol and i dont get half lol but yes that my point i def dont make 2.50 or whatever it is so not getting a tip or a 5 dollar tip isnt a big deal to me lol now if i was a waitress id be a lil pisssed, but the way i see it is if if im getting service whatever it may be- i tip. thats just me, but then again im not a cheap tipper lol i have one client whos through his insurance and he leaves me 40 to 50 everytime which is more than what i even make to do the session. its very nice of him and i apprecitae it very much.

Simone_King

Uhh...fine the pastor gives 10% but he could give more to god.

However, waiters and waitress get most of their money from tips. I make sure when I go out to tip them.

A week ago I went to red lobster with a friend. The said girl only wanted to leave the waiters $2.20 censes. (By the way I was paying too.) The reason why I told her to give the tip is because she had a drink that was really expensive.

My friend argued with me over the issue. For a meal and a good waitress as she, $2 dollars is nothing. I ended up given her more of a tip.

I think people now days forget about this issue. I MAKE SURE that the pizza guy gets a dam tip. I worked at Sonic's American drive through for a month.

Trust me, you get most of your money form tips.

I feel bad for the woman for getting fire though.

smantha32

In the context of tipping custom in the US I think the client was being an *kitten*, but I also think paying waiting staff $2.50 is a joke. As the employee I wouldn't have publicly posted it, as the employer I'm not sure what I would do. Probably just reprimand the employee and leave it at that, unless it was not a first time offence.

In the UK the minimum wage is £6.19 ($9.83) per hour and restaurants cannot pay less and use tips to top it up. So tipping culture is very different here. That said I still tip about 10% if the service is good. But, if it's been automatically added to my bill and I'm paying by card I'll ask to have it removed and then leave a cash tip so that is goes into the right hands.

- https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7533863.stm

I don't really understand how restaurants here get away with doing that, but they do. The "assumption" that someone is going to make enough in tips to cover the difference is ridiculous.
On top of that, many restaurants make waiters tip everyone else who helped them out of their tips. Hostesses, bus boys, bar staff.. probably so they can get away with paying all those people under minimum wage also.

I waited tables 20 years ago, and it was really hard to make a living wage. People say go get a different job, but when you're unskilled it's not an easy thing to do. It took a long time to work away from those kinds of jobs.

crimsoncat

I have heard of something similar to this happening before, but with people leaving religious pamphlets instead of a tip. Really, it's douchey. I don't care what your religion is, you should tip somebody who is providing you with a service because they don't make a lot of money otherwise, and leaving pamphlets for them probably won't convert them to your religion. So really, you aren't doing anybody a favor. As for getting fired, I think she should have blurred the name on the receipt, but I probably would have done the same thing.

I think these fake 10s are what you're referring too:



http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/11/23/waiters-phony-10-tip-includes-religious-lesson/

smantha32

Always reminds me of the scene from Reservoir Dogs with Mr. Pink. I wholeheartedly agree, privacy issues aside...tips are earned not given. I don't care if you make $2.40 or $8.40 an hour. You chose that profession and even if it is the ONLY job you could get, fine...but keep in mind to get a solid income it's based on your service.

I don't believe there's any indication the server gave poor service. She just had a cheap *kitten* for a customer.

I'm not sure whether it was wrong or right to post the receipt, but people are fired all the time for airing things on facebook. The woman who did it should have thought it through.

smantha32

i didn't read every post, but i wanted to clear something up up:

the waitress DID get a tip. since the pastor's party was more than 8 people, an 18% gratuity was added automatically. this is pretty standard practice in US restaurants. the pastor crossing it out and writing "$0" didn't change that.

that being said: the pictures i saw of the receipt didn't show the pastor's name. i'm assuming that Yahoo! edited it out, and that the full name was posted on reddit. i can understand that that is a huge violation of privacy, even if there is nothing in the Applebee's handbook about it. should the waitress have been fired? probably not, without an actual rule or procedure in place within the organization. but i can understand why they arrived at that conclusion.

and let's not pretend for a second that this pastor feels bad for what she did or actually wants to apologize. she got called out for using God's name as an excuse to stiff a hard worker, and that's unexcusable in my book.

i feel really bad for the waitress, and i hope she is able both to find a job with customers and supervisors who treat her better in the future, as well as exercise more discretion in these types of situations.

Oh yes you can refuse to pay the gratuity -- just because it's typed out all nice and pretty on the check doesn't mean the customer is *required* to pay it.

The main reason the gratuity is added automatically on large tables now is because of cheap people stiffing servers on large bills. Normal people can't fathom how people can be so awful but they are. A lot.
The reason things like this are put in place is because there are A holes who ruin it for everyone else.

smantha32

Waiters don't earn minimum wage. They get about 2.50 an hour. The rest is supposed to come from tips.
Sometimes they might do really well, sometimes they can be there all night or day and make nothing.

Thank you! I worked from January to August as a server & bartender. I'm not going to say what I made but I will tell you that it's TERRIBLE. Oh by the way, I did go to school. I have a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Technology. This economy sucks and I have to go get a Master's degree just to get a job in my field. I'm also unemployed and thankful that my boyfriend can pay our bills while i go to school or I would be in food service forever...

BTW some people don't tip. Ever. No matter how the service was, no matter how many times I went and filled every little request a 1,000 times, no tip. Most of these people will complain just to get their food for free. I've seen it done hundreds of times

I've seen it before hundreds of times too. When I go out to a restaurant these days I'm so happy I'm not in service anymore.
I hope you can get a job in your field soon. :flowerforyou:

smantha32

Why shouldn't she mention God. She's a PASTOR for goodness sake!

Umm, I expect her to use God in the right way. She now admits: "I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”

I think if she hadn't written "Pastor" on the receipt, she wouldn't have come off quite as snotty.

DamnImASexyBitch

If you choose to go out in society and eat in an establishment where you are waited on by a staff, and you don't go through a line and get your own food...you are accepting the societal rules that state you tip.

IF you're in a culture where the rule is that you tip. Plenty of cultures DON'T tip.

This is bs. You're in the USA and we tip here. It's American culture. Just because you're not American doesn't mean you don't follow American customs when you're here. That would be like me visiting a foreign country and expecting them to follow my way of life instead of my succumbing to theirs during my visit.

Gallowmere1984

Why shouldn't she mention God. She's a PASTOR for goodness sake!

Umm, I expect her to use God in the right way. She now admits: "I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”

I think if she hadn't written "Pastor" on the receipt, she wouldn't have come off quite as snotty.

The funny part is that it really looks like it was written more as an afterthought.

DamnImASexyBitch

She got fired for posting the receipt, plain and simple. I don't know if it's been mentioned but does anyone remember the server who got fired for bragging about the good tip he got from Peyton Manning?

sdereski

She did not cover up the person's signature, and for that she got fired. Yes, she deserved to lose her job as a result. We need to be very mindful of what we share on the internet and what not to. Having said that, the pastor SHOULD have left a tip.
The way I look at it, if you can afford to eat out, you can afford to tip.

fresh_start59

I read the story about this and, in the end, the group ended up paying the tip twice. Once because it was automatically figured into the bill (as is customary with a group of 8 or more) and the other tip was cash left on the table. Of course, it is the pastor's word against anyone else who wishes to speculate.

Was the pastor wrong for leaving the note?
Absolutely. That is the kind of thing that gives Christians a bad name. In the article, the pastor admitted that it was wrong, saying she was embarrassed and brought shame to her church.

Was the waitress wrong for posting the bill
Absolutely. According to the restaurant, Applebee's, the waitress violated the customer's privacy which is against company policy. Business owners who offer a service and do it poorly or openly gripe about their customers get a bad reputation and don't stay in business very long. Now, if this business is a corporation, with a national chain (like Applebee's), there are lots of people to keep happy. Restaurant managers have regional managers and heaven knows how many other managers above that. And then there are the corporate shareholders, board members, yada, yada, yada. To many, it may not seem fair that she was fired, but business is not always fair. Why? Because it's business, not fifth-grade.

I've always left a cash tip on the table, for two reasons:
1) I figure there's a better chance the money will go to my waiter/waitress, instead of being put into a pool that is divided evening at the end of the night.
2) I always thought it would put a few extra cents in the waiter/waitresses pocket, since it means it wouldn't show up on the paycheck with taxes deducted.
Now, I'll be rethinking leaving it on the table, especially if my receipt with a zero tip has a chance of showing up on the Internet.

smantha32

Now, I'll be rethinking leaving it on the table, especially if my receipt with a zero tip has a chance of showing up on the Internet.

That's only if you leave a sh#tty message on your receipt.