So this is what it means to lead by example?- Page 2
So this is what it means to lead by example?
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#25So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 3:45pmIf someone from the restaurant posted her receipt (with name and credit card info) that person should be fired.
#26So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 3:49pmJoe, I agree. It sounds like she tried to undo the damage when she realized the name could be read, but still . . .
#27So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 3:49pmI think it was just the (very legible) customer signature, not the card number or a printed name. Though I do agree that the company was within its rights to fire her even for that.
ghostlight2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
#28So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 3:56pmUnfortunately it was not quite legible enough to keep another pastor (male) with a similar name from being harassed. I can't provide links, because as of now, I've only seen it on FB. Yes, the waitress really screwed up posting private information publicly.
#29So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 5:02pm
Yea, no question that she should have been fired.
But it doesn't change the obnoxiousness of the Pastor.
Not to thread jack, but since I see that you can be a pastor with so few parishioners I'm thinking about starting The Church of Taz.
I would love to be able to introduce myself as Pastor Taz.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#30So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 7:19pm
I agree with everyone who says the server who let this go viral screwed up by letting the name of the customer remain visible. And it's a shame, too, because it distracts from the true a-hole here, someone who would go to a restaurant (where you KNOW you are expected to tip the person who serves your table) and somehow thinks their smug declaration of giving god 10% somehow absolves her from trying to stiff the server of her gratuity.
Although, as the Gawker update of the story says "The pastor called it a "lapse in my character and judgment" that "has been blown out of proportion." Somewhat an ironic statement coming from someone who ordered Applebee's to fire everyone who came into contact with the receipt."
Updated On: 1/31/13 at 07:19 PM
#31So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 1/31/13 at 7:37pm
And I'm not sorry she was revealed for what she is.
I'd happily help the whistleblower get a job if she were in my area.
#32So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 2/1/13 at 5:15am
I love you people. I got into a huge argument via Facebook when I dared to suggest that it wasn't out of line for this employee to be fired. She works for a huge corporation. It's reasonable to assume that she knew she was placing her job in jeopardy by posting this picture. Maybe it didn't occur to her, but when you work in a corporate restaurant, the customer is always right. It sucks sometimes, but you know that when you work for companies like this.
I worked for a restaurant corporation for 8 years and trained several thousand servers. One thing I ALWAYS told them is that you are going to encounter a$$holes. They will stiff you. They will say rude things. They will complain when there's nothing to complain about. Someone will do just about anything to get a free meal. You have to kill them with kindness. If someone leaves you five pennies, you can't follow that person out and give it back, saying, "You must need this more than I do," as much as you might want to. It almost killed me when a pastor left a folded piece of paper on my table at lunch that looked like a $20. When you opened it up, it read, "Disappointed? You wouldn't be if Jesus was your lord and savior," and had their church address. I wanted to follow him outside and give him a lecture about his assumptions about a person he didn't know. I also wanted to tell him that my disappointment had nothing to do with Jesus, but rather that after having worked 40 hours on my feet that week plus going to school full time, I thought I was $20 closer to making rent for the month. I didn't because I would have been fired.
The corporate machine is NEVER going to side with one server who dares to insult a customer, even if it's deserved. This is Crapplebee's we're talking about. They are cutting hours to keep from paying for employee healthcare. They aren't going to pack up one server. Besides, the server it happened to didn't even post it. Her friend did. Nothing happened to her at all.
#33So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 2/2/13 at 1:29pm
The server who posted the photo (who, she confirms, was not the actual server, but just another waitress working the same shift) has written a piece for The Guardian. Whether or not you believe she should have been fired, it's a well-written article that makes interesting points.
The person who wrote the note came across an article about it, called the Applebee's location, and demanded everyone be fired -- me, the server who allowed me to take the picture, the manager on duty at the time, the manager not on duty at the time, everyone. It seems I was fired not because Applebee's was represented poorly, not because I did anything illegal or against company policy, but because I embarrassed this person.
In light of the situation, I would like to make a statement on behalf of wait staff everywhere: We make $3.50 an hour. Most of my paychecks are less than pocket change because I have to pay taxes on the tips I make.
After sharing my tips with hosts, bussers, and bartenders, I make less than $9 an hour on average, before taxes. I am expected to skip bathroom breaks if we are busy. I go hungry all day if I have several busy tables to work. I am expected to work until 1:30am and then come in again at 10:30am to open the restaurant.
I have worked 12-hour double shifts without a chance to even sit down. I am expected to portray a canned personality that has been found to be least offensive to the greatest amount of people. And I am expected to do all of this, every day, and receive change, or even nothing, in return. After all that, I can be fired for "embarrassing" someone, who directly insults his or her server on religious grounds.
____________________
I need tips to pay my bills. All waiters do. We spend an hour or more of our time befriending you, making you laugh, getting to know you, and making your dining experience the best it can be. We work hard. We care. We deserve to be paid for that.
I am trying to stand up for all of us who work for just a few dollars an hour at places like Applebee's. Whether a chain steakhouse or a black-tie establishment, tipping is not optional. It is how we get paid.
I posted a picture to make people laugh, but now I want to make a serious point: Things like this happen to servers all the time. People seem to think that the easiest way to save money on a night out is to skip the tip.
__________________________
I did my best to protect the identity of all parties involved. I didn't break any specific guidelines in the company handbook – I checked. But because this person got embarrassed that their selfishness was made public, Applebee's has made it clear that they would rather lose a dedicated employee than an angry customer. That's a policy I can't understand.
I am equally baffled about how a religious tithe is in any way related to paying for services at a restaurant. I can understand why someone could be upset with an automatic gratuity. However, it's a plainly stated Applebee's policy that a tip is added automatically for parties over eight like the one this customer was part of. I cannot control that kind of tip; it's done by the computer that the orders are put into. I've been stiffed on tips before, but this is the first time I've seen the "Big Man" used as reasoning.
Obviously the person who wrote this note wanted it seen by someone. It's strange that now that the audience is wider than just the server, the person is ashamed.
______________________
While this story has garnered immense media attention, my story is not uncommon. Bad tips and harsh notes are all part of the job. People get fired to keep customers happy every day.
As this story has gotten popular, I've received inquiries as to where people can send money to support me. As a broke kid trying to get into college, it's certainly appealing, but I'd really rather you make a difference to your next server. I'd rather you keep that money and that generosity for the next time you eat out.
"Tips are not optional--they are how waiters get paid in America"
#34So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 2/3/13 at 12:39pm
Tips are 100% optional. If they weren't, they would be automatically added and a stiff would be considered theft of services. I don't like the way the system works, but that is the American server system. It doesn't matter if she makes $100 an hour or $1 an hour. She was given guidelines that she was to follow when she took this job voluntarily. She broke a big policy. The customer was pissed. (The customer was also an asshole. This is completely irrelevant, as MANY customers are assholes and it's a customer service job.) She rightfully lost her job. This isn't even something that happened to her. It happened to a coworker.
Working for tips is what you sign on for when taking a serving position. You kiss ass and pretend to give a $hit when you don't. It's all part of the game.
#35So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 2/3/13 at 1:11pm
I personally disagree with you, JG, and I imagine if I asked ten random people they'd say the same. I don't view tipping as optional--the amount one leaves for a tip is discretionary, but flat-out stiffing is akin to theft of service in my mind. It may not be LEGALLY actionable, but it's ethically and morally dubious to me.
Obviously you're 100% correct that tipping is technically optional, and that's just another sign that the gratuity system is broken. The more you think about it, the more you realize how awful a system it is--and I say this as someone who spent a lot of time working in service. Unfortunately I doubt we'll ever see real reform in America.
Some restaurants are enacting personal change, though. Casa Nueva Restaurant in Athens, Ohio (a restaurant I frequented constantly when I was teaching at nearby Ohio University) used to pool tips and use them to pay all workers equally. When they found out that this violated the letter of the labor laws, they did away with tipping all together, raised their prices slightly, and began paying all their workers a respectable hourly wages. I haven't heard of any complaints from customers or from servers.
I do think the person who posted the receipt deserved to be dismissed if she broke the company's rules, although I don't think what she did is inherently wrong, and the customer in question was obviously an ass. As Reg said, I'd happily help her find a new job if I were in the position to.
#36So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 2/3/13 at 3:41pm
"You personally disagree" and "in my mind" are not the same as legal facts. You may think it's stealing. It's not even "technically" optional. It's just optional. Again, I was in a corporate restaurant environment for 8 years and trained servers all over the Southeast where MANY people don't tip or tip very little. Some subcultures don't tip in the US and some leave $1, regardless of the total. I don't want to get into those issues, but it's a fact. It's not illegal, though. MANY teenagers don't tip. Prom and homecoming nights SUCK for servers. The system sucks. It doesn't change the fact that legally, it's the way it is. Some people believe abortion is morally wrong, yet it's legal. Some people think gun ownership without the intent to hunt is morally wrong, yet it's legal. Some think homeschooling is morally wrong... That doesn't change the law. Should it be changed? Yes. Can your moral beliefs dictate how others behave? No.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#37So this is what it means to lead by example?
Posted: 2/6/13 at 8:53pmVideos