“Is It Alright If I Tip You A Different Way?”

Eric, a bartender somewhere in the United States, gets what most of us in the industry think is the rudest, most offensive tip in the business. Unfortunately, many of us have been in his shoes. Some people either have no sense of what’s right, are selfish, enjoy being rude, are cheap or a mixture of them all. People, there’s one, single, top priority for all service industry workers…..make money.

Recently I was working an off-site catering 85th B-day. Off-site is always a little more difficult in that you typically don’t have all the supplies you need to fill every request. Cue in 40 something mother of two children. They park themselves at the table right in front of the bar, even though none of them at the table were drinking. I did make her a couple of diet colas. At some point 2 hours into party, she, quite nicely, asks if I can make her two Kiddie Cocktails. Sure no problem. Crap! I’m out of grenadine. I say, “Sorry Ma’am, I just sold out of grenadine, but I can get close if I use some of the cherry juice from my fruit tray instead.” She replies with a “No that’s alright.”

So, thinking I might need some more and hoping to make her day, I call up the Restaurant and have one of the dishwashers run out a bottle to me. I let her know when he brings it in, since she’s right in front of the bar, and she gladly orders the two Kiddies a cocktail (the only two she ordered).

Near the end of the celebration, after having occupied the prime bar table location for over 5 and half hours, she approaches the bar and asks if it’s alright if she tips me a different way. I hedge, thinking that she might mean by credit card, which I can’t do since I’m off-site, and have no credit point of sale. I say, “…well that depends, how do mean?”

She replies, “Have you been saved?” and proceeds to lecture and inform me of her beliefs, denomination, the location of her 1st Baptist Church, etc. After which she calmly places her pamphlet in my tip jar (see pics).

That…was the worst tip I’ve ever received.

TL;DR: I go out of my way for a ladies kids, and she tips me with her religious propaganda.

Oh, man. That’s bad. I haven’t had anyone pull that on me in a long, long time. The last time someone left me religious propaganda as a tip, the hid it under their dirty napkins and hustled out the restaurant before I could realize that’s what they left me as a tip. Leaving jesus pamphlets, instead of a monitary tip, is absolute scum-baggery.