Bendies Award Winner: The Tip

Not all acts that defy common sense are inherently bad. Sometimes people do something that defies conventional wisdom, something that stands out as selfless, honorable and good. Those acts are worthy of praise. And thus, I introduce The Bendies - BentSense’s award for excellence in going against common sense.

Here’s a tip: waitresses and service persons are not worthy of a gratuity just because they are serving you. Yes, I said it - I’m not always a willing tipper. I’ve never completely stiffed somebody who was waiting on me in a restaurant even if their service was atrocious and uncalled for, but I am not a fan of how the expectation of a tip has gotten out of control (I’m talking to you, union-wage garbage men, Starbucks coffee makers, and automatic 18% gratuity-added-to-the-bill establishments). I grew up in a service-oriented economy (Las Vegas) and watched staffers work their hind ends off for their tip. Yes, actually served in a manner worthy of added appreciation.

Now, because we live in a tip-expectation hyper atmosphere, tipping has become a matter of stingy course. Patrons whip out calculators to figure out tips and rarely go over or under the traditional 15% mark, regardless of quality of service or circumstance. Bad service is not punished, above-and-beyond service is not rewarded.

Not so one family in Indiana. There a family defied conventional common sense and went well beyond a mere %15 gratuity. Instead, this family - who had recently suffered a tragic loss - saw a way to celebrate life and give into their community by giving a waitress a $10,000 tip!

A Pizza Hut waitress! Jessica Osborne was most likely used to seeing a $5 tip as a big one. But on one blessed day, she found her college tuition paid for by a family she waited on every Friday night; a family who had come to appreciate Jessica’s pleasant service, friendly nature, and plight as an aspiring student who could not pay for school. So when this family lost their husband and one daughter in an accident, they took a large portion of the settlement proceeds and donated it into the life of a person who did nothing but her job, but did it with such joy that she became more family member than pizza slinger.

Good on you, tipping family - and here’s to the hope that Jessica Osborne will do us all proud!