After Church Crowd at Restaurants

[humblethinker]

Agreed. Even 20% of a $20.00 check is only 4 bucks. On a $35 check, we usually leave $8 to $10. We are repeat customers to several restaurants and probably known as Christians as well as good tippers, so that helps with getting great service. If a Christian looks at the restaurants as a mission field where servers are people with individual needs as well as spiritual needs, it changes one's perspective on the tips. That server taking your order may not know Jesus. That server may know Jesus but has to cover that shift instead of being in worship. We have left a tip of $75.00 once on a $35. meal to a young man (server) who professed to be a Christian and had been sick the week before and was worried about his rent. Extravagant? Maybe. But maybe it took some pressure off of that young man and helped him get through the rest of the day knowing it was a gift from Jesus through us. I believe God blesses us financially so that we can bless others and that doesn't always mean just putting it in the offering plate, but living out our Christianity in our daily lives, blessing others along the way. People may never remember a word we say about Christ, but they will remember how we treated them in His name when we professed to belong to Him. I don't want to be remembered as a stingy Christian or a CINO (Christian in name only). Some of you may disagree with me about tipping, but that's okay, that's just MHO.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Absolutely! Excellent post!

 

[gb93433]

I have seen the opposite be true. Because the waitresses and waiters observed the behavior of Christians there were those who had a different opinion of Christians. One time when I was in college my roommates and I went to a restaurant we often went to and observed a difference in the lay who usually waited on us. When we told her that her response was, "really." Then we went on to tell hear the difference we saw. She told us that she had just become a Christian.

I have worked in retail and wholesale for many years and can tell you what I have observed. Some of the best customers were those living for Christ and some of the worst were the legalists. When observed other places their stripes remained the same.

At one time my wife was a waitress and we never come with a bad attitude. When we walk into a restaurant the people know us after we have been there awhile. Those who serve us are people and have bad days too. When we care about them and brighten their day it makes a difference in their lives. Sometimes they will never forget.

The question is do we come to serve or to be served?

Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

[freeatlast]

No - only in yours. If God says that He will never allow one of His children to go hungry, even man deciding to starve someone won't make them starve.

God didn't want the three in the furnace to die - and they didn't. Man's doings didn't thwart God's will.

God's word never fails contrary to your claims. You stand against what He says I stand with what He says, but your way is the liberal way.

 

[Ed B]

At one time my wife was a waitress and we never come with a bad attitude. When we walk into a restaurant the people know us after we have been there awhile. Those who serve us are people and have bad days too. When we care about them and brighten their day it makes a difference in their lives. Sometimes they will never forget.

The question is do we come to serve or to be served?

Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Along this line, a few years ago one of the regular waitresses who normally served the "Saturday morning men's breakfast" was out sick for a few weeks. For context, she is 50ish and her household would be considered low-income. We heard about her prolonged illness and had flowers sent to her home with a get well soon card. When she returned to work and saw us, she was grateful to the point of tears. It was a humbling experience for me and showed how such a small act of kindness can have such a significant positive impact on a person. In hind-sight it might have been better to send a really big tip but we didn't think of it at the time.

 

[Arbo]

Being a waiter or waitress is a hard job and keeping a smile on the face when confronted by rude people makes it tougher.

"Do unto others are you would want them to do undo you." {Some famous fellow said that.}

Rude people who expect class-A service are deceiving themselves if they think they'll get it.

The wait staff always has the last laugh when they spit in your food.

 

[gb93433]

Rude people who expect class-A service are deceiving themselves if they think they'll get it.

The wait staff always has the last laugh when they spit in your food.

An employer once told me that he hires for the things you cannot train.

You are so right though. When people come to me with an attitude I avoid them or give them a much higher price. Typically people with a bad attitude are much worse to work for and the job takes longer.

 

[mandym]

God's word never fails contrary to your claims.

Uh, she never claimed that. You are now guilty of being a false witness. You want people on this board to die, you accuse them falsely and your overall attitude is pure hatred. Shame on you.

 

[Arbo]

Uh, she never claimed that. You are now guilty of being a false witness. You want people on this board to die, you accuse them falsely and your overall attitude is pure hatred. Shame on you.

It'll fall on deaf ears.

 

[mandym]

It'll fall on deaf ears.

I know but it should be said by all anyhow.

 

[Jerome]

There's always the 'money tract' alternative.

Way of the Master store

 

[annsni]

God's word never fails contrary to your claims. You stand against what He says I stand with what He says, but your way is the liberal way.

Hmm - you can't argue can you? Christians die of starvation. You say God would never let a Christian starve. So who's right? Hmm - maybe the truth?

 

[annsni]

There's always the 'money tract' alternative.

Way of the Master store

I hate that!! I've heard of Christians giving tracts instead of a tip and I want to slap them upside the head!

 

[Arbo]

There's always the 'money tract' alternative.

Way of the Master store

Unless a tenner is included, more harm to the Cause of Christ than good.

 

[jaigner]

I hate that!! I've heard of Christians giving tracts instead of a tip and I want to slap them upside the head!

Believe me, they are the laughingstock of the food service industry. Tracts are useless.

And it seems to me that it is a manifestation of grace to tip properly even when you perceive the server doesn't deserve this. How quick we are to preach grace and how much we resist showing it in the most practical of ways. Christians in our culture have a strange desire to point out what other people have done wrong and carry out our warped brand of justice upon them.

This is one of those cases. Show more than mercy - show grace even when you don't think it's deserved.

 

[saturneptune]

Only in your mind.

At least she has one. This is not just about tips. It is about demanding, arrogant, demeaning church members expecting to have the red carpet rolled out for them at O'Charleys after church.

 

[matt wade]

And it seems to me that it is a manifestation of grace to tip properly even when you perceive the server doesn't deserve this. How quick we are to preach grace and how much we resist showing it in the most practical of ways. Christians in our culture have a strange desire to point out what other people have done wrong and carry out our warped brand of justice upon them.

This is one of those cases. Show more than mercy - show grace even when you don't think it's deserved.

Do you carry this over to other business arrangements? If you contracted a plumber to come to your house and do a re-pipe, and he botched the job, would you still pay him his fee? How about if you contracted a mechanic to fix your car and he didn't fix it? Would you still pay him?

 

[saturneptune]

God's word never fails contrary to your claims. You stand against what He says I stand with what He says, but your way is the liberal way.

What is your definition of a liberal way, not agreeing with you? I find your posts to be obnoxious and very unedifying. I can picture clearly a pitcher of tea being poured over your head at a restaurant.

 

[Amy.G]

Christians should be generous in all ways, including tips. Having said that, you could always do what I do after church and go home and eat a peanut butter sandwich. :tongue3:
I can't afford to eat out as often as you guys.

 

[Bob Alkire]

Do you carry this over to other business arrangements? If you contracted a plumber to come to your house and do a re-pipe, and he botched the job, would you still pay him his fee? How about if you contracted a mechanic to fix your car and he didn't fix it? Would you still pay him?

Matt you ask a good question. I can take you too, that some churches and pastors that have had trouble with other types of work and ended up in court or settled before court right there in J-ville.

For most of my adult life I have had to eat two to three meals a day in restaurants and with my wife having had a restaurant for about 12 years
I don't go out and eat more than one or two times a year. Never have went out after church on Sunday to eat. For me the best food in home cooked.

On tips, depends on where the restaurants are located and which meals. In down town office areas for breakfast and lunch for the most part it is the women who don't tip or don't tip well and want so much more service.
Wife said teachers, professors, women and office workers were the ones for lunch her people didn't care to serve, supper was older folks, college kids, families with two or more kids and groups of females together. Males will either see who is the bigger tipper or who is the cheapest.

Wife tells me that truck stops have some real good tippers, leave a dollar or two for coffee. She would lose help from time to time when the local truckstop had an opening, the young ladies would tell her they could make a lot more money there. I know I have left my share of tips at truck stops over the years.

 

[12strings]

Do you carry this over to other business arrangements? If you contracted a plumber to come to your house and do a re-pipe, and he botched the job, would you still pay him his fee? How about if you contracted a mechanic to fix your car and he didn't fix it? Would you still pay him?

I think it's a matter of scale, and a matter of the fact that service is somewhat less quantifiable than construction work.

Here's the real question, if the plumber does the job, but does it slower than he should have, and is not very nice to you, but get's the job done, do you still pay him?

Even really bad servers (in most cases) do actually bring you food and drink. Some may just be slower, or less friendly while they do it. We should be willing to give grace to people who may be having a bad day.

If your plumber came in stressed out about a family crisis, and was somewhat distracted, and not very energetic in his work, but eventually got the job done, we would usually be happy just to have the job done.