Tipping

Tipping at a restaurant can sometimes be a stressful duty. Those not really good at percentages may struggle to come up with the exact amount. The days of the 10% tip are long gone but we aren't really always comfortable with a 20% tip. For some it's "too much." So for the most part the going rate is 18%.

For me 10% is very easy to figure. 20% is just fine, too. But this 18% is a bit foreign to me. So when I am in charge of the tip I tend to go on the higher side for the sake of clarity.

But then you have to deal with the situations where the service wasn't good enough to merit a full 18% let alone 20%. If it's a restaurant that you have the possiblity of returning to it is kind of sticky to not give a full percentage of tip. We have all known of those servers who DEFINITELY remember who "stiffed" them. I really don't want to purposefully stiff someone I may run into again.

Besides, we are supposed to be Jesus with skin on, right? So in spite of the service I tend to go ahead and give the appropriate tip.

Tonight was no exception. Today we were given a gift card for Applebee's. Our day was a full one as usual and the evening held a meeting following service. We were later than normal getting home and all of us were too pooped to cook anything. So we did the "Carside to Go" and ordered out. Nate and I went to pick it up. We pulled in and the lady came right out with our order. I handed her the gift card and some additional cash to cover the bill. I told her to keep the $3 extra as her tip. We pulled off.

Nathan frantically asked me what I had just done! I told him I gave her a tip. He askedhow come so much? Then it dawned on me.

$42 order

$30 Giftcard

$25 Cash

I gave her a $13 tip!!!! And all she did was deliver it to my car! No drinks, no appetizers, no refills, no clearing of dishes!

Nathan laughed all the way home!! He was convinced his father would have a coronary. But when I explained everything, he was fine. After all, every bit of that money had been given to us for Pastor Appreciation. So tonight I practiced the "Pay It Forward" principle. Maybe she needed a few extra dollars tonight. Maybe the Lord will prompt her to pay it forward to someone else. Maybe I had better be supervised when figuring a tip!