The Applebee’s restaurant slogan is “see you tomorrow”, after they fired a waitress for posting on line a receipt that a church pastor left which not only stiffed the waitress but left a nasty note, they may see a few less people tomorrow as the incident has gone viral. As posted on yahoo.com news on Feb. 1, 2013 the fallout may cost the popular restaurant chain some repercussions.
The incident began when Pastor Alois Bell, of the World Deliverance Ministries Church in Granite, Illinois , was given the bill of $ 34.93 which had an 18 percent gratuity added since the party had more than eight people in it. Bell crossed out the 18 percent and wrote “I give God 10 percent, why do you get 18 percent” and left the waitress, Chelsea Welch, nothing for a tip.
I broke out my finger and toes and the tip amount would have been $6.29.
Welch took a picture which included the pastor’s signature and posted it on line along with the message. Pastor Bell found out that she was ousted on social media as being a cheap skate and complained to the Applebee’s manager and Welch was promptly fired. As for stiffing the waitress and leaving the nasty gram the Pastor said “It was a lapse in my character and judgment, adding she did not expect her easily recognizable signature would be, as her friend informed her, “all over Yahoo. You went viral!”
Really Pastor? Shame on you, do you realize you used God as an excuse to justify your being cheap and crude? People are so suspicious of religion anymore because of the money factor and this does not help the cause.
Obviously Pastor, you didn’t expect that the whole world would find out how awful you treated another person. Bell is now riding the “poor victim train” stating “my heart is really broken, I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”
That’s what this is really about isn’t it Pastor? It’s all about you, not the fact that you cost someone their job. It’s all about how embarrassed and ashamed you feel, and you should.
Let’s put this in perspective, in the eyes of a business the waitress was wrong for posting the note, I am sure it broke a few company policy’s and the Pastor is morally wrong for being such a hypocrite. The waitress works very hard and for tips, someone as esteemed as a Pastor would know that. The Pastor passes around the collection plate every Sunday expecting her flock to be generous and keep the church going. What if everyone wrote a note on their check and stiffed the church?
As for Applebee’s they took it too far as well, surely a verbal or written warning for Welch would have sufficed and if Pastor Bell was such a devout Christian and forgiving, she would encourage the restaurant chain to do the same.
I have sent Applebee’s an e-mail indicating I object to their overreaction and firing of Welch and that I would not be going there anymore unless they reversed themselves. If you would like to express your feelings to Applebee’s, here is the link. www.applebees.com/about-us/contact-us
Perhaps we can do what Pastor Bell won’t do and that is to forgive and forget and encourage or pressure Applebee's to reinstate Welch.
Meanwhile Welch is out of a job in a tough economy, perhaps Pastor Bell you would be decent enough to arrange for Welch to eat in a local soup kitchen or maybe your church has a food pantry that you could find it in your heart to give her a few canned goods to live on, since your selfishness and lack of judgment in the name of God, started this mess.
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