What Kind of a Customer are You?

I used to wait table in high school and college. So did my kids. Once my daughter (who worked at Applebees) waited on a table of eight who left her a $2.00 tip. She had to tip share with the bus crew based on the amount of the bill. That night she worked for free because Applebees had no policy of adding the tip for large parties. She came home in tears. I will NEVER eat at Applebees because of that.

Fr. John Hardon used to recommend that one way of doing charity was to leave generous tips for those who worked for small wages. So we are generous tippers and pretty slow to get upset. These days working with the public is tough. Our culture is increasingly more rude and more crude. Just look at the comments on social media. Hey, you can name call and sling profanities from behind the "anonymous" rock.

I think a good new year's resolution would be to treat everyone, including the most casual contacts during your day, with a friendly comment and a cheery smile.