(Lafayette, Louisiana) – A Lafayette business recently introduced me to their biannual event, “Bless the Waiter or Waitress,” and more local businesses should adopt this very kind gesture.
I was recently at the GoodWolf Power Yoga/Pilates Studio in Lafayette when the owner, Toni, explained how their clients become not only friends but family after just a few short sessions.
She went on to explain that twice a year, they arrange a lunch at a local restaurant with several clients or customers, and the catch is that they all tip the one waiter or waitress serving their table.
As you would imagine, the party often consists of several clients, which means whoever is serving them is going to get a nice tip. The local studio arranges this lunch twice a year, in August and in December.
Toni told me they choose those two months because that’s when people in the service industry likely need the most cash. As she was explaining this to me, I asked what the most someone received from this party or lunch was.
After a slight pause, she told me that each time they’ve visited a local restaurant, they’ve left at least $1,000 for the waiter or waitress. In one instance, after a local waitress received a tip of over $1,200, she told them that she was going to buy her child a car, but she didn’t have the money for a down payment. Well, after serving their table, she did.
The restaurant Toni selects for each visit is never announced to the clients until it is time to arrange to meet up, so as not to erase the “surprise” that’s about to happen for someone in our community.
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As we were finishing up our conversation on this amazing idea, I told her that I’d llike to share what she does in hopes that others in our community adopt her “Bless a Waiter or Waitress” idea.
So many great people in Lafayette and in Acadiana work hard in the service industry, and if you can just bless one, it is well worth it. And as Toni said, the tip never reflects the service at the time; it’s all about blessing the person working in the right place at the right time.
I love this so much, and that’s why I am sharing this with you as we approach the holiday season. If you’re out, tip whoever is serving you. After all, maybe you were sent there for a reason.
Check out the message on the wall in this Lafayette studio. Taking care of the “GoodWolf” is the mission.
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