Gambling
I have just got off the phone with a professional
gambler. She, is one of my three of my daughters that have at one time, have are or
have been professional gamblers. I know this seems a little off, or a little
strange that three of my family members are or were at one-point gambling for money.
It, however, is 100% true that gambling was their profession. They routinely had to anticipate the needs of
the rest of the people at the table, have a professional, yet pleasant demeanor putting it all on the line for the feedback of the persons at the table. That feedback is in the form of the tip left
after the meal is completed. You see, my daughters were professional gamblers as
they make less than $2 bucks per hour with the hope of it becoming $300 or more at the end of their shifts. The
gamble is while summoning all the charm and professionalism she can muster that
it would be sufficient to receive a tip commensurate to the level of effort
made to make sure that evenings dining experience was enjoyable and memorable
Make
no mistake this is not for the fun of it as sometimes it can be fun, but it is
the way of doing business in a businesslike manner.
My
Daughters have always been hard workers all 3 daughters that are here have
worked waitressing. Seeing they gave birth to my legacy and are at present
nurturing them to become adults, all 10 of them have different personalities and
habits. Their well-being and happiness
is and was based on at some point, her prowess as a gambler. I tip regularly and generously. The amount is flexible based on the level of
service, and that is totally up to you. I recently attended my daughter’s
graduation from Tulane University with her master’s degree in social work. After graduation, we went to the restaurant
where she worked. Houston’s in New Orleans. It was a high-end restaurant. I
usually tip with cash when I am in a high scale restaurant, as I want to reward
the staff (the gamblers) for their effort and work. I do not wish to reward
the state or federal government for their work that’s between the wait
staff and them as I stay out of it. In
this case, I forgot to get cash for the tip the dinner was close to $250 which
meant with my method of calculating 20% was doubling the cost of the meal then
moving the decimal point to the left. Which was about 50 bucks. I went across the street at the
Walgreen’s and hit the teller machine and took out about 150 dollars. The manager was at the table and surprised me
when he told me, “Sir, your daughter is a delight to work for, and she has worked
very hard here and is respected by her co-workers. We are comping the meal.
After my mouth closed. I thanked the manager, and when the waiter came back, I shook his
hand and gave him $60. You see, the meal was comped, not the immaculate service. I had no problem giving
money when a job was well done. In this
case, it absolutely was. There is a
reputation that follows Christians that reputation is that they are cheap. I
will not state this as a fact. However, since the thought is ubiquitous in its widespread acceptance, I will accept the truth of it in some quarters of society. So between 11AM and 1PM on any
given Sunday there will be somewhere in the viewing of this article 6-15 people
at a given restaurant with the chairs rearranged to accommodate the group (and
their children) have a meal for everyone
then leave a tip that is in the least embarrassing to me to even
comprehend. If it was my daughter, and
while they were college, it was my daughter. I would want to slap the taste
out of the mouths of every adult. If they were clergy, they would get
the change to turn the other cheek as I would want to slap them twice.
I will however not leave a generous tip to anyone in
the wait staff that ignores my family and me while in the case I am
thinking of trying to get the attention
of a young man (he was handsome) while ignoring my requests for more water. It
also was telling that someone else had to serve the meal while they tried to
get her dance card filled. I don’t remember the amount of the meal, but I do
remember the tip was nowhere close to my usual 20%
I
Have family members (I use that term loosely) that have not come to the
revelation as of yet that rewarding excellent service is good policy. They are
moving at their own pace in their journey of the spiritual growth area, so I don’t
speak of it unless it’s with my wife in private.
Remember these people when you sit down for a meal. They are sons and daughters, fathers
and moms and are trying their best to make ends meet just like we are. You see
a little grace can go a long way. That
reminds me of a story of my younger years, I used to drink copious amounts of
alcohol when I was a young airman. I used to give a preemptive tip. I’d walk up
to the bar and get the attention of the bartender and say. I am here to do
business. I would love to do business with you. In that regard, I would like to
present you with this $10 bill as a sign of my good faith. I would like a Gin and
grapefruit. Needless to say, I needed a
taxi ride home more than once. It wasn’t for me at the fact was that my car got drunk, but, I still needed
to get back to the barracks. I no longer
drink, but the sentiment is absolutely the same. By rewarding excellent service, it
has a positive effect on the evening. For the servers and those being served.