Starting with 18%

I have heard it said that waiters and waitresses hate to handle church groups because they are notoriously bad tippers, and they don't buy the expensive drinks that easily add to their bill.  The claim is that Baptists come in with the ten commandments and a ten dollar bill, and they won't break either of them.  

Last week, we took a group to a local restaurant.  When the bill arrived, to the total of the order was added a "gratuity" of 18%.  I knew this practice was sometimes done.  Now, this blog is not a gripe session, but an observation recollection.  The service actually was pretty good, better than normal for this restaurant.  The staff was deserving of the gratuity, and if it had not already been figured for me, they probably would have received more.  

What is interesting to me is the 18% figure.  I'm not sure what a good gratuity is.  I somehow get the idea that if you even talk to a waiter at a restaurant, you automatically owe him 10%.   I think 20% is considered generous.  So, maybe, 15% is for average service, right?  (I knew one guy who said he never gave more than 10%.  His explanation:  "God only asked for 10%, so why should anybody need more."  This statement says more about the man who made the statement than it helps with establishing gratuity principles.  Equating biblical stewardship with rewards for good service is like saying the Sermon on the Mount was a "good talk.")   

Back to my point, how did the 18% come about?  Why that percentage?  If I was correct in the above reasoning, then is 18% saying, "We plan to be above average, but don't get your hopes up too high."?   

Honestly, I'm not even interested in the answers to those questions anymore.  What I want is the 18%.  Stay with me, and let me explain.  I don't want more money, and what I'm wanting would not technically be called a gratuity.  I want tips, little bits of advice and insight. Not stupid stuff  like, "Don't bet on a three legged horse," but information that is genuinely helpful.

When we first moved to the Beaumont area, we knew nothing-to-little about the place.  We did not know where to grocery shop, where to bank, what routes to take to avoid traffic, what they put in gumbo, etc.  We have learned some of that on our own.  I equate it to barefoot missions. That's what it is called when they just drop the missionary off on the field and he has to learn everything on his own, including the language.   

Well, we don't have to go through life barefoot.   If you have a bit of wisdom, I would like to hear it or read it, as the case may be.  You can comment on this blog with your tips.  Come on, give me the 18%.   I will reciprocate.  I'll give my 18% too.  I'll put it on Facebook.  There is a lot of searching for something done on that site.  Maybe, I can figure out how to link this blog with my Facebook site.  Anybody got 18% on how to do that?