Yesterday, we brought you the story of a St. Louis-area man claiming to be a pastor who—following an unsuccessful attempt to dodge paying a restaurant’s auto-gratuity policy—chose to leave no tip whatsoever, writing in the margin of the receipt, “I give God 10%, why should you get 18?” Today comes word that the waitress who posted a picture of the receipt to Reddit was fired from Applebee’s for the deed. “I originally posted the note as a lighthearted joke,” Chelsea, the waitress, told The Consumerist. “I thought the note was insulting, but it was also comical. I posted it to Reddit because I thought other users would find it entertaining.” The picture went viral, and along with it, the pastor’s signature (although nobody seems to be able to read the signature—the identity of the pastor remains a mystery). Nevertheless, according to Chelsea, the alleged pastor got wind of it and promptly called the Applebee’s, lovingly demanding that everyone in the entire place be fired. That didn’t happen, but Chelsea did lose her job. “I was just trying to make a joke,” she said. “But I came home today unemployed” …
UPDATE: The Smoking Gun is reporting that the pastor, Alois Bell, has apologized for a “lapse in [his] character and judgment,” saying, “My heart is really broken, I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.” Thanks for the tip.
