Over the past few weeks, I have been working regular shifts at my "home" restaurant (the one the hired me last September), and picking up shifts in a sister restaurant closer to home. Throughout this journey of working in the food industry, I notice the opinions and assumptions that people form of those who go to church.
One comment about working a Sunday lunch shift in a restaurant, and you will hear some of these opinions and assumptions. One of the servers at my "home" restaurant commented that she would be working Sunday afternoon, and that it better be busy, because otherwise she won't make rent. Then she realized that she probably wouldn't make rent anyway, because of the "After Church Crowd" (ACC). This made the other hostess crack up and start imitating what the typical "ACC" member would sound like when ordering.... "Yes, I'll have the baked schrod with no butter, no breadcrumbs, no lemon. And I'll have the rice and broccoli. But make sure the rice is really well done, but not overcooked." They had a good laugh out of it, before commenting "I hate the ACC."
I can hear the thoughts now... "Why didn't you say anything?"..."Why don't you report harassment?"..."I can't believe they would say such a thing!" Well, you know what, harassment was the last thing in my mind at this point. My immediate reaction was disgust. But not at my fellow employees. My disgust was with the Christians who give everyone else a bad name in the restaurant. With the Christians who rather leave tracts, instead of tips. With the Christians who do not show mercy or understanding when the food may not be exactly how they ordered it (regardless of how picky they are being when ordering). With the Christians who don't tip well because they don't have the money on-hand. And with the Christians who don't understand that waitstaff is counting on YOUR TIPS to make ends meet from week-to-week, because they get a base pay of maybe $4/hour.
Do Christians realize how their actions impact the very souls they are trying to lead to Christ, when they leave a tract instead of helping someone pay for rent? Do Christians realize how offensive that is to the waitstaff? If you want to leave a tract, I can't stop you, but at least leave a decent tip as well. And by decent, I do not mean 10%. If your total bill is $40, and you tip 10%, the server is only getting $4.00 out of the entire bill. If you sit at the table for an extended period of time, and the restaurant is busy, leave a little extra - you are occupying extra space where they could have made more money.
Don't expect the server to be perfect and then knock off some of the tip percentage because of one mistake. Was the mistake resolved? Awesome! Did you bring it to their attention in a polite way? Trust me, you don't want to know what is said after you leave, if you did not respect the waitstaff! They are helping to take care of you, so why don't you take care of them in return, okay?
Be courteous. Treat them with respect. And for goodness sake, leave a good tip. Did you know that most servers count on 20% as being standard? Leave 15% and you're considered rude. Leave less than that, and they'll call you stingy. Don't be part of the "ACC."
If you want the server to make it worth your money, make your money worth their time.
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