Waffle House Wouldn’t Let Waitress Keep $1,000 Tip, So Patron Sent It To Her Directly
26-year-old Shaina Brown was working the overnight shift on Mother's Day last month at a Waffle House in Raleigh, North Carolina when she had the moment every server dreams of.
A guy at one of her tables told her, "I'm going to bless you tonight." He proceeded to leave her a $1,000 tip, told her she had a "good spirit", then hopped in a cab and left.
The guy actually tipped $1,500. He told her to give $500 of it to a woman at another table who looked a little rough.
Well, of course Shaina was quite ecstatic. She is a single mother with three kids who works two jobs.
But when it was time to cash out, Waffle House wouldn't let her keep the money! The reason is their policy. When a customer leaves a huge tip on a credit card it is to automatically be refunded.
They're afraid to pay it out in cash because the customer may dispute it later. Shaina says she felt humiliated and felt like they stole from her.
The story does have a happy ending. The local newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, tracked down the guy who left the tip and he got in touch with Shaina and sent her the tip directly. He said he wanted to remain anonymous.
There are still some beautiful people in this world.