Applebee's Waitress Fired After Posting Receipt Online

An Applebee's waitress was fired after posting a receipt left by an alleged pastor with a message saying "I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?"

A flick of the receipt was posted to Reddit by server Chelsea Welch showing a bill for $34.93 that included an automatic 18 percent gratuity of $6.29 above a blank space for additional tip.

Welch explained in the comments section that the receipt was part of a total bill of over $200 for a party of 20, causing the automatic tip. “Parties up to eight ... may tip whatever they’d like, but larger parties receive an automatic gratuity," the server wrote. "It’s in the computer, it’s not something I do.”

But the waitress threw no shade, adding, “They had no problem with my service, and told me I was great. They just didn’t want to pay when the time came.”

The pastor later identified as Alois Bell told Welch's manager that the backlash from the receipt had "ruined" her reputation, Welch said in an email to Yahoo! News. A spokesman for Applebee’s said it apologized to Bell for violating her "right to privacy" and confirmed that Welch was no longer employed by the franchise.

“[It was] a lapse in my character and judgment,” Pastor Bell told the Smoking Gun, adding she did not expect her easily recognizable signature to go viral. “My heart is really broken,” Bell said. “I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”

However, Welch doesn't feel the embarrassment is righteous. “If this person wrote the note, obviously they wanted it seen by someone," she said. “I’ve been stiffed on tips before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the Big Man used as reasoning."