A server from an Applebee's restaurant in St. Louis, Mo., was fired this week after posting a photo of a receipt from a customer who refused to tip — presumably because of religious reasons.

Chelsea Welch, the former server, posted the above photo to Reddit's r/atheism channel on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

The photo shows a receipt for a $34.93 bill, with an 18% gratuity ($6.29) added underneath, which the customer had scribbled over with the phrase "I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?"

The photo quickly spread across Reddit, Facebook and a handful of blogs. Before long, word made its way to the woman who left the note — later identified as Pastor Alois Bell — who called the restaurant and demanded the entire staff be fired, Consumerist reported.

The next day, on Wednesday, Jan. 30, Welch was let go.


"I posted a picture to make people laugh," she said in an article for the Guardian. "When I posted this, I didn't represent Applebee's in a bad light. In fact, I didn't represent them at all."

Welch said the note was actually from a co-worker's table — she only took a picture and posted it as a light-hearted joke. The automatic 18% gratuity is part of the restaurant's policy for parties of eight or greater, as Bell's was.

The original photo included Bell's full signature, which Welch told Consumerist she had thought to be illegible. After commenters on Reddit began taking cracks at the name, Welch replaced the photo with the signature cropped out — by then, though, Bell had already caught wind of it.

Welch said in the Guardian article that she was well-liked at the restaurant and had no previous incidents. She was even anticipating on being promoted to a managerial role in the near future.

"I did my best to protect the identity of all parties involved. I didn't break any specific guidelines in the company handbook – I checked. But because this person got embarrassed that their selfishness was made public, Applebee's has made it clear that they would rather lose a dedicated employee than an angry customer. That's a policy I can't understand"

In an interview with The Smoking Gum, Bell — who heads a 15-member church in St. Louis — said she regretted her remarks and referred to the incident as a "lapse" in her character and judgment.

"My heart is really broken ... I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry."

Applebee's spokesperson Dan Smith said the incident had violated the privacy rights of Bell, The Smoking Gun added.

Welch had been waiting tables to save money for college.