Chelsea Welch was a waitress at Applebee’s—that is,
until she recently got fired for posting a picture of a receipt on Reddit.
She had waited on a party of twenty, which, according to Applebee’s policy
means that a gratuity of 18% is automatically added onto checks. While policies
like this may seem bothersome to consumers at times, they are meant to ensure
that large parties don’t scrimp on the tip when the bill is high and the party
is large (and therefore more work).
When Welch delivered the check to this particular party,
however, one of the customers took offense at the 18% gratuity. Pastor Alois
Bell crossed out the automatic tip and instead wrote in “0.” Welch had
previously experienced tip stiffs, but this one was special, for next to the
crossed out tip, Bell had written a message:
“I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?”
When
she saw the receipt, Welch snapped a photo of it and posted it to Reddit.
“I thought the note was insulting, but also comical,” Bell said to
Consumerist.com. “And I thought other users would find it entertaining.”
Unfortunately for Welch, she was right. The photo went viral
and online users were able to identify the name of the pastor from the
signature on the bottom. When interviewed by the Smoking Gun, Alois Bell said,
“[It was] a lapse in my character and judgment… My heart is really broken… I’ve
brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”
Bell called Applebee’s and complained to the manager there,
which is what prompted Welch’s firing. Applebee’s apologized to Bell for
violating her right to privacy, assuring her that Welch had been fired.
Welch, however, still stands by her right to post the photo,
pointing out that there was nothing in the employee handbook stating that her
behavior wasn’t acceptable. “I had no intention of starting a witch hunt or
hurting anyone. I just wanted to share a picture I found interesting,” she
said. “I come home exhausted, sore, burnt, dirty and blistered on a good day.
And after all that, I can be fired for ‘embarrassing’ someone who directly
insults their server on religious grounds.”
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