Not too long ago a customer at an Applebee’s refused to leave his waiter a reasonable tip because he felt the employee did not deserve the money.

The customer wrote on the receipt, “I give God 10 percent, why do you get 18?” and left the waiter no tip.

While I do not know the circumstances of what happened or how well the waiter did his job, I still believe even if the waiter’s service wasn’t satisfactory, he should have at least received a 10 percent tip.

You would think in this day and age people would be more considerate toward others and treat everyone like a human being.

To some, a waiter is just another person to mistreat because they feel entitled to do so.

While the whole Applebee’s tipping fiasco happened a few years ago, people should still be reminded regularly on how to tip properly.

And those who never tip should consider doing so when they dine out at a restaurant.

Is anyone legally required to tip anyone?

Nope. It’s voluntary.

But waiters deserve money for giving you service, bad or good. Surprisingly some customers assume the price of their meal also covers the service they receive from waiters.

This is not true.

The money for the food is for the food. The tip customers leave behind is meant to pay for the service received by the waiter.

Under federal law, the minimum wage for tipped employees, like bartenders and waitresses, is just $2.13 an hour.

Employers are supposed to make up the difference if tipped workers aren’t earning the state’s regular minimum wage when their tips and wages are combined.

Unfortunately this doesn’t always happen.

So the amount of money a waiter earns is varied by how busy the restaurant is and how well they are tipped.

While the majority of people want to tip generously, most folks just don’t know how. Customers should tip somewhere between 15 to 25 percent of their total bill when going out to eat at restaurants.

There are a number of tipping calculator apps online to choose from and easily add onto a smartphone.

Should a customer tip a server if the service was bad? Unless a waiter harasses a customer, he or she should always receive a tip.

It’s unfair for a server to bend over backwards to help customers only to be rewarded poorly or not at all.

Perhaps waiters and waitresses should have their tips paid up front before the customer eats.

The waiter will then know just how much effort they should put into their service.

A $1 tip? No problem. The customer will get $1 service.

If you feel the experience was below adequate then a 10 percent tip will still pay for the service you were given, and the waiter’s time while still letting that person know he did a bad job.

To contact Ethan Cooper, email pioneerphotog@occc.edu