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  1. I’d just like to pass on another way to help spread the gospel and it’s simply this:-

    Include a link to an online gospel tract (e.g. http://www.freecartoontract.com/animation) as part of your email signature.

    An email signature is a piece of customizable HTML or text that most email applications will allow you to add to all your outgoing emails. For example, it commonly contains name and contact details – but it could also (of course) contain a link to a gospel tract.

    For example, it might say something like, “p.s. you might like this gospel cartoon …” or “p.s. have you seen this?”.

  2. Giving a generous tip for lousy service only encourages them to continue performing in such an incompetent manner.

    Moreover, the onus of ensuring that these people get a living wage should be on their employers, not on customers who have no obligation to pay more than what they are billed.

    1. Reminds me of an old story about a man who went to the baths…

      He was looking dusty and ragged, so the attendants gave him the worst service, the most worn towel and the smallest bit of soap – but, upon washing, he gave them a gold coin each.
      Naturally, when he came back a day or two later, the attendants thought: “A gold coin for bad service – how will he reward us for good service?!” and lavished him with the best service, the fluffiest towel, most splendid bathrobe and a massage. Eager, they awaited payment… to receive the smallest copper coin each for their efforts.
      To their puzzled enquiry the man replied: “Those gold coins were for today’s service. This is for the last time’s”.

      So, depending on the person’s upbringing, it might encourage them for better or worse. Like everything in life. Of course, if the bad service is consistent, one might re-think one’s policy (on a case-by-case basis), but why not spread cheer instead of misery as your default modus operandi?

      1. I see the point you are making – better to be a cause of cheer than of despair.

        However, we do not always get to go back to these servers or these places in order to determine how they respond (based on their upbringing) to my tipping (or lack thereof). Sometimes, we pass by them just once.

        What is consistent though – whether we encounter a server once or regularly – is that this culture of “obligatory tipping” prevalent in some countries encourages employers to not give their employees a living wage, giving the excuse that people will tip them anyway. Subjecting these servers’ welfare to the whims of people and depriving them of the security normal employed people get seem to be too high a cost to pay for the perpetuation of this obligatory tipping culture that allows some people to feel better about themselves.

  3. Oh my goodness – my husband does the same thing!! We don’t eat out much, but he tips so lavishly every time, even if our server was awful. We call it “tipping grace” and I respect him a lot for it.

  4. I just came across your blog and love it. I’m looking forward to following along. This was a great post. My daughter spent 6.5 yrs at The Cheesecake Factory as a server while going through nursing school. So we know the importance of tipping your waiter/waitresses.

  5. I love this post, and I agree with every word of it. I often like to leave a gospel tract with my tip, and it’s imperative to be generous when doing that. I do tend to be a bit of a tightwad, but when tipping, I like to be generous. Thanks for a great post!

  6. I am so moved by this article. I think of my precious son-in-love, Troy and how he put himself through med school managing Pappadeaux on 1960. From that difficult job straight into dentistry. I don’t think any of his patrons or his patients have seen him anything but gracious and kind, regardless of what they sent his way. I have also seen him leave gracious tips regardless of the service. Now, my Ethan is following in his daddy’s footsteps. I am praying his customers will see the kind, cheerful young man who is serving them and will bless him.

    1. What a precious testimony, Martha! I pray your Ethan will be blessed, too, and that he will continue to be a blessing to the customers he serves. I am happy to report that our Samuel worked his first Sunday morning shift this week, and he told us it was his best yet, both in terms of tips and of friendly patrons. And that is exactly as it should be, don’t you think?

  7. This is so good! When I was in college (a Christian college), a professor confronted us about it. He recognized that college students would go to restaurants in large groups, order the cheapest thing on the menu, and water. Then they’d ask for the free bread or chips/salsa, and plenty of refills. Which he didn’t have a problem with. But when the bill came and our receipt was only $3.50, a 15-20% tip is just not enough! Our waiter had served us as much (or more) as they’d served those who spent $50 on food, and they deserved just as good of a tip. He said we could skimp on the food, but never the tip.

    AND said that if we couldn’t afford to tip well, we should keep our eating out to fast food locations. Some students thought he was harsh, but it always stuck with me.

    1. Your professor was absolutely right: “Skimp on the food, but never on the tip.” Our family frequents restaurants that let our younger kids eat free on certain nights of the week, but my husband always calculates the tip as if we had paid full price for the children’s meals.

  8. Jennifer, I found your blog posting most insightful, and after reading/seeing it from both your eyes, and Doug’s, I, too, must change how much I offer the waitstaff. I would usually figure on a percent and round to an even amount. If the service provided wasn’t to my liking, the tip would lean negatively; conversely, good service would earn the server a larger amount. I had not thought of Doug’s perspective that maybe the person was having a bad day, for whatever reason, and that I might be the one to cheer them up with a nice tip. Thank you for opening my eyes!

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