Tipping Philosphy

This is the ‘tipping’ time of the year and I thought this would make a good post. I am a good tipper and sometimes get flack about it, which chaps me because, why do people care how much I tip? You would think I was taking it directly out of their pockets. I tip well because I was a waitress and sometimes the extra buck or 2 I got came at a critical time.

Lets say you are meeting some friends after work for drinks and appetizers at your favorite restaurant. There are 10 of you, its happy hour, and you have had a bunch of drinks and lots of food and your total bill is $150. You decide to split it evenly and everyone owes $15. A reasonable tip is 20% or $3.00 each for a total of $30. But wait, lots of people don’t tip 20% and even restaurants who enforce a gratuity on tables of 10 or more usually only require 15%. So lets say that 5 people only tip 10% and 2 don’t tip at all and the other 3 tip 20%. Now the tip has went from $30 down to (stops to get calculator) a measly $16.50 or barely 10%. This waitress who has been shlepping drinks and apps for you and your noisy friends for the last 2 hours is going to get a measly $16.50? Now you are probably thinking that its on top of her hourly rate but did you know that minimum wage for wait staff is substantially less than other types of workers? It is assumed that the wait staff will receive enough tips to make up the difference but this isn’t always the case. By the way, the 2007 minimum exception (wait staff, etc) wage is $2.87 per hour.

Here is my philosophy on tipping. If your bill is $15 and a reasonable tip is $3, why not go the extra mile and leave $5. If everyone in a group of 10 did that, the $30 tip just became $50. The $2 extra you are leaving doesn’t mean jack to you but the extra $20 might mean a lot to the wait staff.

My last comment is, just because I tip well on our group bill, doesn’t mean that some people in the group don’t need to. This is another thing that really chaps me. Lets say everyone has left decent tips and the last person writing out their check sees that there is already a $30 tip on the $150 tab. That person still needs to tip. I have seen it more than once and my daughter Jessica told me she has seen it too. What the hey!

Ok, I am climbing down off my soap box now but the next time you go out for dinner, throw an extra couple bucks on the tab. Those waiters and waitresses work hard. I know, I was one.

Gossip

A woman was gossiping with her friend about a man whom they hardly knew. That night, she had a dream: a great hand appeared over her and pointed down on her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

The next day she went to confession. She got the old parish priest, Father O' Rourke, and she told him the whole thing. 'Is gossiping a sin?' she asked the old man. 'Was that God All Mighty's hand pointing down at me? Should I ask for your absolution? Father, have I done something wrong?'

'Yes,' Father O' Rourke answered her. 'Yes, you ignorant, badly-brought-up female. You have blamed false witness on your neighbor. You played fast and loose with his reputation, and you should be heartily ashamed.' So, the woman said she was sorry, and asked for forgiveness.

'Not so fast,' says O' Rourke. 'I want you to go home, take a pillow upon your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me.' So, the woman went home: took a pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to her roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old parish priest as instructed.

'Did you cut the pillow with a knife?' he says. 'Yes, Father.' 'And what were the results?' 'Feathers,' she said. 'Feathers?' he repeated. 'Feathers; everywhere, Father.' 'Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out onto the wind,' 'Well,' she said, 'it can't be done. I don't know where they went. The wind took them all over.'

'And that,' said Father O' Rourke, 'is gossip!'

From the movie Doubt.

Christmas 2009

Its the day after Christmas and I have to post that this was the best Christmas I have had in awhile. There are multiple reasons but mostly it was really enjoyable being with my family but I also found great gifts at clearance prices. I dont know why the 'bargain hunt' is so enjoyable for me but I was like this as a kid. When I was maybe 10, my mom and I were at kmart and they had a blue light special on purses. I bought 5 purses for a buck a piece. I dont know why I thought I needed 5 but they were on sale. The joy is in the hunt, and the season! Merry 'Christ'mas!

VERSE OF THE DAY

Its been a long time since I posted so here are some quick updates.
1) I have good days and bad days. Except for yesterday, the last couple weeks have been good. Pain under control and I am not sick with anything weird.

2) Jeff was in the hospital for a week with a perforated bowel. He was very close to a bowel resection and having a colostomy bag. This was due in part to not enough fiber in his diet.

3) I am really enjoying the Christmas holidays this year. I have done a moderate amount of shopping and bought some monogrammed stockings for the little boys that are really cute. I havent decorated the house but I am really feeling the meaning this year. God is helping me to enjoy all that the season has to offer.

4) I joined Weight Watchers at work and am walking 2-3 miles almost every day. As of today, I have lost 14 pounds and feel like my health is back in my hands.

VERSE OF THE DAY
I have a pile of bible verses on my desk that are mostly motivational and I grab one every morning and read it periodically throughout the day taking a few minutes to concentrate on the meaning and apply it to whatever I am working on. My hope is that God will lead me to the message that I need for that day and help me retain and apply. I have pretty much been through all of them multiple times so today, I googled daily bible verse and the one I found was not new news by any means but the crux of my beliefs and for me, it felt good to read.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 (NIV)