IN RESTAURANTSThe Creative Tipper
In 1993 at Macaroni Grill we were enjoying lunch with five friends, some of whom we had not seen in a long time. Our waitress seemed distracted, inattentive and generally unpleasant. The normal response from a diner would be not to tip, or to leave only a token tip. Margaret, instead, came alive to the situation. She pulled a little happy message card from her purse and attached a bill to it with a paper clip. No one else saw what she was doing except me. She glanced at me with a knowing smile as I raised one eyebrow when I spotted a twenty. I knew better than to complain. Meantime everyone at our table was out of tea and coffee. Our waitress was no where in sight. I stopped a passing waitress who brought back coffee and tea for us. When our own server reappeared she wore a scowl on her face. I found myself wondering what we had done to provoke her. Margaret had to reach out and grab her arm to stop her. She handed her the card. No smile in response. She half-heartedly asked the others if their meals were okay. Then moved away to torment some other customer, I thought. In a few minutes I saw her across the room walking slowly our way. She was wiping her eyes. Her pace slowed as she approached our table and knelt by Margaret's chair; she reached out for her hand and momentarily leaned her face to Margaret’s arm. In a small voice I heard her thank Margaret. She explained that from the start everything that day had gone wrong. Margaret’s gift had shocked her. She knew it was undeserved. The message on the card had read, "thank you for serving us today -- God bless you." She thanked Margaret over and over for being so encouraging to her. We remained at the table for another five or ten minutes. I could not help noticing that she was treating guests at other tables cordially. Her countenance had visibly brightened. In recalling this story I pondered the issue of frugality verses extravagance. God is extravagant in loving us. I am glad that He was not frugal at the Cross. Yet we know that being conservative with the money he gives us is a good thing. Someone who is sensitive will know which way to go. As a rule of thumb how about - Be frugal with self, and extravagant with others, particular if we believe our extravagance may encourage someone at a crucial time in their life. GOD CREATED PEOPLE SO THEY FUNCTION BEST WHEN THEY ARE HELPING OTHERS. by Dee Stribling, |
Sometimes Margaret
creatively tips servers when their service is under par.
