A St. Louis religious leader was not "Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood" after her snarky, tip-less receipt from Applebee's was posted on Reddit . . . and then the Smoking Gun, the New York Daily News, the Huffington Post, Good Morning America, FoxNews, Forbes, MSN, the Atlantic, the Washington Post and the Guardian.
After dining with a party of roughly 10 people on Jan 25, pastor Alois Bell received a check with an automatic 18 percent "six-or-more"gratuity added to the total. Even though the bill was split multiple times, the large-group tip was still there.
The pastor crossed out the 18 percent large-party tip and added the note “I Give God 10 percent, Why do you Get 18."
Bell, who says she gives 10 percent of her salary to the church, was none too happy. She crossed out the $6.29 tip and added the note “I Give God 10 percent, Why do you Get 18."
Later that day, a waitress who had not served the pastor took a picture of the receipt and posted it online with a note reading, "My mistake . . . I'm sure Jesus will pay for my rent and groceries."
An Internet firestorm followed and the poster, Chelsea Welch, lost her server position as management caught wind of the viral news. Applebee's released a statement via Facebook to try and justify the termination.
Both Welch and Bell have since offered their sides of the saga.
A Houston-area Applebee's staffer — who, for obvious reasons, wished to remain nameless — tells CultureMap the ol' "split the check" routine doesn't get parties off the hook from the automatic 18-percent gratuity. Even if the total bill is divided, each receipt will include the party tip.
The employee noted that customers tend to hate the "six-or-more" policy, especially after they try to beat the system.
A St. Louis pastor left a pointed comment to one Applebee's staffer, unleashing a week-long foodie firestorm.
Chef-owner Joseph Boudreaux.Photo by Drea Karolina
That's a photogenic burger.
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