Applebee's Fiasco

I'm not happy with anyone's behavior, really.

The company is primarily at fault for bilking both customers and employees. It is not right to pressure customers to pay employees through tipping; that is the employer's job. A tip should be something extra that the customer freely chooses to add for exemplary service. It should not be necessary to anyone's survival because the employer is too stingy to pay a living wage, as is routinely the case in the restaurant industry.

The pastor should not have written something rude on the bill. That is just asking for trouble. People have a right to object to things if they don't approve, but that applies equally to billing practices and observed behavior. It is not necessary to be obnoxious when attempting to right a wrong.

The employee did violate customer privacy. That's not a good thing.

The restaurant should not have over-reacted by firing everyone involved. That just contributes to taking a minor party foul and turning into a disaster that's dragging in a whole bunch more participants. This does not solve any of the problems.

But most people are more interested in doing what they want than in solving problems. This is exacerbated when there are endemic problems that people are sick of putting up with, and there are not straightforward ways of conflict resolution that are more rational.