Local servers join virtual tip jar during COVID-19 pandemic

March 29, 2020 at 3:46 a.m. | Updated March 29, 2020 at 3:40 p.m.

by Nicole Roberts

Clockwise, from top left, these are the physical tip jars of: BarVino, High Rise Bakery, Spectators, Paddy Malone's, High Street Pub and The Pizza Company. Faith Prenger, from Spectators, has organized a virtual tip jar that employees from various businesses can sign up for to help support them during a time when many establishments are closed or have limited hours of operation.
Clockwise, from top left, these are the physical tip jars of: BarVino, High Rise Bakery, Spectators, Paddy Malone's, High Street Pub and The Pizza Company. Faith Prenger, from Spectators, has organized a virtual tip jar that employees from various businesses can sign up for to help support them during a time when many establishments are closed or have limited hours of operation.

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With restaurants, bars and other service industry establishments closing their doors or cutting back on services and hours, servers are struggling to pay their bills.

Now, customers can tip some Jefferson City area servers using a virtual tip jar.

Jefferson City resident Faith Prenger created a Google Doc where servers can enter their names, the businesses' information, their Venmo and/or PayPal information, and a short message. Once they hit submit, their information is added to a Google spreadsheet.

Customers can then access the spreadsheet and tip servers using their Venmo or PayPal accounts.

Customers who want to tip employees can access the virtual tip jar at bit.ly/JeffersonCityTips.

Servers who want to add their information to the list can fill out the Google Doc at bit.ly/JeffersonCityVirtualTipJar.

While employees from local restaurants, bars and coffee shops make up the majority of people on the list, Prenger said other service industry workers like hairdressers and barbers can sign up, too.

As of Saturday afternoon, 52 local service industry employees from Jefferson City, Linn and Ashland had signed up through the virtual tip jar.

After Prenger noticed bigger cities offering virtual tip jars, she thought Jefferson City needed a similar system now more than ever.

"As we know, people who work in this industry, they don't make a normal hourly wage that can pay for your normal bills, so you use your tips to make ends meet," she said. "Now these people are either completely out of work or they've had their hours reduced, so they can't pay their monthly utilities. This gives people an option citywide to look in and say, 'Hey, I want to give this person a tip while I know right now they're struggling.'"

Since each employee enters his or her own information, Prenger added, customers know their tips are going directly to the servers.

"It's pretty nice to see people putting in a helping hand when we really need it," she said. "And it's nice that it goes straight to our community."

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