Keep the Change: PYT Responds to NFL Player's Poor Tip

The NFL is plastered all over the news this week from the exciting start of football season to the Ray Rice scandal. But Philadelphia seems to be dealing with some football-related news on a more local scale. On Monday, Northern Liberties burger joint PYT posted a photo on their Facebook page of a receipt from Eagles player LeSean McCoy’s recent visit to the restaurant. But it wasn't to share excitement at serving the running back but to highlight the poor tip he gave his server. The receipt shows McCoy’s tip of $0.20 on a $61.56 bill, totaling a mere 0.32% gratuity. Both the athlete and the restaurant have received backlash from the public; McCoy for leaving less than a 1% tip and PYT for taking to social media to publically express their frustration. 

(Source: Facebook)

Fresh off the season-starting win, PA native McCoy has yet to address the incident publicly.

• Why this hurts: A tip that is less than 1% for an average person would be considered inappropriate but for McCoy, who has a $45 million contract with the Eagles, it may seem unacceptable. Seemingly ignoring the issue may damage his reputation and likability among the notoriously fickle Philadelphia sports fan.

Though McCoy has yet to address the issue, the owner of PYT, Tommy Up, responded to criticism by releasing a statement via their Facebook page that you can read here.

• Why this helps: While I neither agree nor disagree with Up’s decision to post the photo, I do think his response was apt. As the owner, he showed responsibility for his actions and stands by his employees and even applauds the Eagles and McCoy on their recent win. While most released statements seem crafted by PR reps (and most are), his statements comes off as purely genuine. Because of this, people will respect him and his restaurant, increasing their reputation in the long run.  

No matter who you agree with, this is garnering a lot of attention for PYT that’s not limited to Philadelphia. Even actor Charlie Sheen is chiming in on the issue!

Update: A few hours after this blog was posted, LeSean McCoy released a statement defending his $0.20 tip. You can read his response in an article from CSN Philly here.