Editorial Editor
A major problem this country has is the false sense of entitlement instilled in a select few individuals. Last week, a restaurant owner decided to take revenge on Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy by posting a photo of McCoy’s 20 cent tip on a 60 dollar order. He sought to publicly embarrass McCoy for his frugality, but instead humiliated himself and was forced to issue a quasi-apology and clarification statement to the press.
However, the restaurant owner, along with other Americans, still does not understand the issue with demanding more money from another individual. First, an owner of a restaurant should not be advertising that one of his customers only gave him a 20 cent tip. Not only does that reflect poorly on the quality of service, but it is also negative advertising for the restaurant. It is strikingly similar to a business owner writing his own business a negative review on Yelp.
“A restaurant owner decided to take revenge on Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy by posting a photo of McCoy’s 20 cent tip on a 60 dollar order.”
However, the restaurant owner was more focused on targeting McCoy’s social status than caring for his reputation and the standing of his employees. In his statement, he spoke of McCoy’s tip as “two dimes from an insulting multimillionaire.” The restaurant owner failed to comprehend that McCoy’s wealth does not guarantee any more of a tip than from a working class individual. However, it is actually the restaurant owner’s own greed that is demonstrated the most. He backs up his statement in an attempt to instill guilt on McCoy asserting that tips pay almost half the salaries of his employees. Yet, if he simply raised his employee’s salaries and maybe diminished his a little bit, his workers would no longer be as reliant on tips to make a living. The fact that tips are a part of a waiter’s salary demonstrates that restaurant owners have become reliant on tips and subsequently expect them from every client, especially the wealthy. This exemplifies an entitled, dependent society full of people who have withdrew from self-reliance and fallen back on other individual’s success.
As Voltaire once said, “it is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.” Restaurant owners need to understand that a tip is not an entitlement, it is money to potentially earn.
Categories: Opinion, Web Exclusive