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I’m a bachelor and like many bachelors, my cooking skills don’t go very far beyond sandwich-making. So, I eat out a lot. It can be a little expensive, but certainly cheaper than food poisoning. I wish I was making that part up. I once made myself so sick making Stove Top & chicken that I barfed for 3 days straight. Anyways, since I enjoy life-without-gastrointestinal-trauma, I’m a restaurant jockey. That means I deal with a lot of people who serve. In the past couple years I’ve begun to really pay attention to waiters, waitresses, customer service reps, etc. And I’ve come to a couple conclusions:

1. Customer Service Jobs Pay the Employee Just Enough Money To Tick Them Off - not enough money to, God forbid, pay all the bills and have some left over for a restaurant experience of your own. But, just enough to leave you $13 for gas money for the next two weeks.

2. All That Customer Service Angst Remains Stored As Potential Energy, Unleashed Once the CSR Becomes a CS Manager – that’s right. Guano rolls downhill and the only job less rewarding that a low-paying waitressing job, is a low-paying head waitress job where you’re forced to be a waitress AND make schedules AND deal with employees personal issues AND cover for employees who don’t show up. Did I mention a raise? There’s probably a reason why I didn’t. Anyways, when an irate customer (i.e. us) demands to speak to a manager, guess who gets to come to the table and attempt to placate you?

- dealing with two waitresses who hate each other & use her as a proxy for sending spiteful comments back & forth

- a single mom, worrying over a son who can’t pass freshman English and she’s sure has already started drinking

- an exhausted woman, wondering if her boyfriend is the one taking money out of her purse while she works at Auto Zone in the evenings

Just because someone is a manager, doesn’t make them invulnerable to the human condition. Is this really the person you want to make a punching bag for your bad day? Or the person who will bring out your food?

A couple weeks ago, I was out at a meal with some other Christians. At the restaurant we chose, our service was EXEMPLARY – we never had to ask for anything, our glasses were kept full, and our waiter was extremely polite. And I’m talking a large group we had at the table- so large in fact, that we were charged the standard gratuity for large parties. At the time, most of us were distracted and didn’t pay attention to the extra dollar or two gratuity added to each person’s bill, so we went ahead & left a tip. After taking a second look at the bill upon leaving the restaurant, one of our party was so angry about possibly being slighted a couple bucks, they almost stormed back in & demanded the gratuity be refunded. From their point of view, I can understand they were thinking it was the principle of the thing…but what principle are we standing for when we act like that? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those who espouse some sort of “prosperity religion”, but what is more important – serving & giving, or satisfying our own checks & balances at the risk of being tacky?

One of the arguments I always hear from people who attempt to justify not tipping for bad service is that they feel it will make a statement to the server about their actions. And I can’t help but wonder ‘who really thinks that works?’ Do you really believe that not tipping is going to cause any sort of change in the mind of a waitress who deals with 40-50 checks a day? Are we so egotistical that we think we’ll cause some dramatic scene with our non-tip? I imagine some of us, sitting in our cars after refusing to tip particularly bad service, daydreaming away like Ralphie from ‘A Christmas Story’ of the waitress’ demise. “No tip? NO TIP?!! Oh, the humanity! Whatever foul sin did I befall my fellow man to deserve such a fate as this! I shall re-double my efforts!” Some people suffer from road rage. I call this type of behavior table tantrums.

What if, instead of not tipping, we tipped 20% instead with a note on the back of the check “Hey, I noticed you seemed like you were having a bad day, Carla (remembering their name goes a long way, too). I just want you to know I appreciate the service you gave me today just as it was, and will pray that God blesses you in the coming week in a special way. Your friend in Christ, Jason.” Think about it – what kind of message about Christ does that leave in the mind of that waitress?

Whether we realize it or will admit it, we humans expect of each other to operate as if all of our faith & security is in the give & take of this world. What am I getting for my money? Is there a return on investment? I demand satisfaction for my grievances! That’s the currency secularism deals in- the fallacy of a money back guarantee on joy. When the world sees someone operating on a different currency than they do, they begin to ponder the exchange rate. If we can but show others just a glimpse of how generous a Savior we serve through love, would they ever settle again for the stinginess of this world’s economies?

-Relationships (even the ones in life where one may give & NEVER receive back, as in the case of customer service) are more important than money. Isn’t giving someone a glimpse of love that isn’t the least bit threatened by bad customer service- isn’t that worth an extra buck or two in a waitress tip jar?

- Does Christ treat us that way when we serve Him so poorly – after all, isn’t the New Covenant a business exchange where the bill is paid BEFORE we serve?

-What is it about the customer/business relationship that makes us think we’re immune from being gracious to others, even if we’re the ones paying for it?

-Do we really believe that the God who spared no expense but gave His only child’s blood for us, would condemn us as a bad steward for tipping an extra dollar or two?

One last thing – if you’re not going to be a generous tipper, then don’t put a religious tract on the table instead, or write God Bless You on the ticket. As a matter of fact, if you’re going to be part of the Sunday lunch rush & throw a table tantrum, please don’t let on you’re a Christian at all – in fact, if your car has a fish sticker on it, park in the back. You’re misrepresenting Our Savior who loves that person you’re treating like a cog in the wheel of mercy-less commerce.

In related news, I found this article on www.consumerist.com. It doesn’t deal directly with waiters, but kind Christ-like consideration of others extends to them as well. It’s been copied here in its entirety, and the link provided below.

If you want to have a successful complaint, it helps to complain like Gerald. That's the father-in-the law of this WSJ writer and he's able to perform daring feats of consumer action, like the time he got the hardware store to replace the $800 grill that stopped working a year after he bought it. Here's how he does it:
• Be extremely polite
• Keep receipts and warranties for all major products.
• Write down the name of salespeople who sold you the product.
• Decide exactly what you want the resolution to be before calling.
• Start at the bottom, starting with the person who sold you the product.
• Ask for "help speaking with someone with more authority" instead of asking for a manager, it's less insulting.
• If the call doesn't work out, thank the person for their time. You never know when you'll have to talk to them again.

Philippians 2:1-11

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature a God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature b of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death —

even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.