Going Out to Eat After Church

Sniff, sniff. Anybody else starting to smell TROLL?

 

Yeah, and preachers ought to be able to go out and eat all the time spending in upwards of $ 5000.00 a year in going out to eat expenses.

Do the math, then consider what the Lord refers to a good steward.

God wants 10% but the waitress wants 15-18%:type:

 

Personally, I have never heard of a preacher spending that much a year for eating expenses. Is there some issue you are dealing with brother?

 

Uh, you're joking, aren't you?

 

10% of income is way more than 18% of the price of a meal.

Apples verses oranges.

And in some cases, it is cheaper to eat out than to make a meal at home...

For instance, it is cheaper for me to take my family to Fox's Pizza and order a Big Daddy Pizza than to buy the ingredients and make it at home...

OH, and ever try to make Hot and Sour Soup homemade.. I did, it cost over $20 for a pot full... but only $8 for the same amount if I order it from the local Chinese place...

So, wanna talk stewardship? Let's talk it. I come from a very poor family... I know how to live cheap!.. .I know what the deals are.. .and sometimes eating out is cheaper.. sometimes buying brand name groceries is cheaper... It is all about cost comparison, and waste reduction...

OK, my rant is over.. .
LOL...

 

I would also suggest that if you make a practice of verbally expressing your displeasure with poor service you should also be willing to verbally express you pleasure with great service.

 

I know this makes 2 for 2, but you're absolutely right.

 

Wow...I bet you're a great customer...

 

You beat me to it.

 

:BangHead:

I do realize how ridiculous this sounds in our modern day. Yet, there was a day when Baptists overwhelmingly held to what is called the Christian Sabbath. Just look at the early Baptist Confessions of Faith. Some Southern states still have the remaining hints of this cultural concern in what is called "Blue Laws." Our culture has become increasingly anti-christian. Pluralism and dispensationalism have infected our thinking greatly. May we all follow what we believe to be the teachings of Scripture with clear conscience. Blessings!:jesus:

 

All well and good, but the observance of a "Christian Sabbath" is neither scripturally defined, nor scripturally mandated. To expect today's Baptist to adhere to the manmade customs of Baptists of the past is inconsistent. To expect Christian nonbaptists to adhere to a manmade baptist custom is unreasonable. To expect secular society to adhere to the same is ridiculous.

 

My family once owned three restaurants in South Jersey. Getting waitstaff to work on Sundays was like pulling teeth, not because they wanted the Sunday off, but because they didn't want to deal with the after church crowds.

It's a very common complaint.

 

Oh, and it was mentioned earlier...if you don't want to contribute to "working on Sundays" then never get a Monday paper.

When do you think they get that thing ready?

rbell <--former newspaper guy

 

I have a hunch the group I run with may be just the type servers want to avoid. We are singles, 30's through 50's, there are anywhere from about 6 to 20 or more of us, usually including a couple who have children (or a grandchild or 2 occasionally), but most of the time it's about a dozen, give or take a few. The first problem in the restaurant is that we come in our own vehicles-- well, for us, often the first problem is when still at the church and we are deciding where to go, but that's no server's problem. Often the first one to get there doesn't know how many of us there are, so asks for a table for 10, when there may be less or there may be twice that many; that because we don't even know who will get there first and whether that one will wait for more to show up. When we do get seated-- our party most always incomplete-- they want to take drink orders quickly, and by the time they bring them there are more of us there, and they ask who ordered water (what most of us order), and sometimes those who had not ordered a drink will raise their hand and get somebody's else's water, or whatever, beginning to confuse things already. Then the server seems to be waiting for all our party to get there before taking food orders, while many of us are still just talking about the last week or the coming week or a recent trip, et al, and haven't even began to decide what they want. One of those often there has a child with a disorder such that he can't have milk products or certain other items, so she has to ask what is in a certain dish, and several times I have seen her send it back with an implied rebuke about not leaving the cheese or something out. And, of course, it's nearly always on separate checks for everybody-- something we (I, anyway) know servers don't like to do, but would not complain about openly. And I know we do extend our time on occasion, but we also leave at different times, so it's not like the few slackers just sit there talking and sipping for an extra 45 minutes; it's usually about 5-10 minutes after the last person has finished eating. As far as tipping-- I don't know how bad we are, as I try not to notice anyone else. Probably more pay by credit or debit card anyway (I usually pay with cash). But I do have a suspicion that some regularly short-tip. There are more women in our group anyway, and I have read before (not intending to offend, of course) that women as a rule make more demands and give less in tips. But I have seen, for example, when we go to a certain buffet sometimes, that some leave no tip and then pay with cash at the counter-- like they don't think they are expected to tip in such a place. And I may only tip 10% or not much more, since they don't take the food order and don't take responsibility for the plate being right; they just take used plates and refill glasses. But I think I have mentioned this before on this board, and someone told me in an all-U-can-eat buffet like that, that the servers may do even more work, and thus should be tipped the 20% for good service.

Okay, that may be rather lengthy. But those who have seen groups like ours from the other perspective-- what should we do to be better customers and ultimately better witnesses, considering that it would be known we are a 'church group', not by our dress, but by it being Sunday and the way we interact?

And one more question: what about in a sports bar? I mean, staying there watching a game they are showing, just sipping coffee or tea to look like we are still using their service. [I ask this more for myself than our group does this, which we normally don't].

 

Alcott, for starters, try to have everybody order at the same time. The server should not have to make 3 or 4 trips to keep giving different people their drinks at different times.

I can't speak for other servers, but one thing that drove me bonkers with serving women was for some reason, they liked to clean out their purses while at the table. So, when I'd bus the table, not only did I find dirty dishes and napkins, but all kinds of candy wrappers and other trash dumped into the bowls or plates. Sometimes I'd get an extra special thrill when some jokester loosened the lids to the salt and pepper, which meant a lot of extra work for me. Oh, and the chewing gum stuck to the side of a plate was always fun when it snagged on my clothing and made a big mess. You do not want to know what servers do to retaliate against people who do this!

Men are so much easier to serve than women. If a man needs ketchup, he just swipes a bottle from another table. Same with sugar or salt or whatever. A man will order the special, eat the plate clean and after a second cup of coffee, will ask for his bill. Not so with a woman.

A woman will take 15 minutes to order, and when she does, everything must be in a separate dish because (gasp) she cannot eat mashed potatoes and gravy if it is touching the corn or beans. Same with the bread. Women will tell you exactly how much ice to put in their beverage and exactly how many croutons on their salad, and you'd better bring the proper amount of salad dressing, too. Their food is always undercooked or overcooked, but never perfect. When their husbands order desert and the woman just wants an extra spoon "for a taste" you can bet your bloomers you'll be making another trip to the table when the man finds HE was the one who had only a "taste" of the desert and turns around and orders another one.

The only annoying men I ever served were either crude to me, or were businessmen who sat drinking pots of coffee and training new employees at the table for two hours.

 

So you served my mother did ya? And really who wants to win someone else's bloomers in a bet anyway?