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Waitress Receives $10,000 Tip From Stranger A Few Days Later She Was Fired From Her Job
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Waitress Receives $10,000 Tip From Stranger A Few Days Later She Was Fired From Her Job

It's been a week full of twists and turns for Mason Jar Cafe waitress Linsey Boyd — or rather, former waitress Linsey Boyd.The young mom couldn't believe her eyes when a customer left her a 32000% tip. No seriously. That's not a misprint — but what happened next may have shocked her even more.Why One Man Left a $10,000 Tip on a $32 BillIt was a Monday afternoon in Benton Harbor, Michigan, when a mysterious gentleman dressed in a smart black suit walked in to Mason Jar Cafe.Waitress Linsey Boyd didn't think too much of the solo diner. He was quiet, but polite.After only sipping his coffee and barely touching his breakfast, he settled up. He paid for the $32.43 bill with his American Express card. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.That is, until Boyd looked at the cheque.The tip line had been filled in: $10 — with three zeros tagged on the end.Yes that's right. The good samaritan had blown the staff of the local upscale cafe away by leaving them an over-the-top $10,000 tip!"We have a crew that does a wonderful job of taking care of guests, so larger tips are pretty normal around here, but not anything of this magnitude. This was absolutely out of the blue — and the largest anyone I’ve spoken to has ever seen."Tim Sweeney, Mason Jar Cafe ManagerThe customer, who preferred to remain anonymous hailed from another state. As it turns out, he had arrived to Benton Harbor on some rather gloomy business.Before entering the Mason Jar Cafe he had been at the cemetery. He was mourning the loss of a dear, old friend. After the funeral he wanted to celebrate his life too.The good samaritan intended the sizeable tip to be a tribute to his late friend's memory and hoped to bring joy to others. However, it may have brought more conflict than he could have foreseen.The Mason Jar Cafe snapped a picture of the bill and posted the evidence on their social media — only to remove the post from their Facebook page several days later.The reason may just shock you.If Only the Story Ended There… "The server even shared the tip amongst the the other staff to continue to spread the love," Mason Jar Cafe captioned the photo. "Things can feel real heavy sometimes, but this was such an amazing act to have seen first hand in our restaurant."The server mentioned — Linsey Boyd — claimed she was more than happy to split the tips with her 8 colleagues. "More people than I can count thought i should have just kept all the money and not have shared. The thought hadn't even occurred to me," she wrote on Facebook.However her manager Tim Sweeney told a different story. Sweeney shared that the patron specifically requested the tip to be evenly distributed among the eight servers. This resulted in a gratuity of $1,250 per person — but he insinuated Boyd wasn't as happy to "pool" her tips as she let on.Apparently, this wouldn't be the first time Boyd and her manager were at odds. But it would be one of the last.What seemed like the perfect feel good story to happen in the most unlikely of places — Benton Harbor often cited for having one of the highest crime rates in America — quickly soured.On Friday, Boyd received the biggest tip of her life. Sunday she was told not to come into work. the next day. Then Tuesday she was told to stay home. On Wednesday she received her final notice.She Was Fired a Few Days LaterIf there was a "good time" to let Boyd go — this definitely wasn't it.Understandably, the feel good story whipped up a small media storm...and all eyes were on the Mason Jar Cafe...but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.In a heartfelt Facebook status, Boyd announced she was unceremoniously let go from her job at the cafe — and the internet was outraged."One week I'm such an amazing hardworking employee awesome mother.. couldn't have happened to a better person. Now, I'm without a job for the first time since I was 15 years old."Linsey Boyd, FacebookAfter sharing how she chose to share her tips out of the goodness of her heart but "hindsight is 20/20", Boyd went on to share how despite the "$1600 boost" the week earlier, now she is in a massive predicament. "I have no job or no way to provide for myself or my kids," Boyd wrote.The Restaurant Insists It “Wasn’t Related”Mason Jar Cafe is still under serious social media fire when it was announced they had let go of the waitress who only a few days prior was awarded the generous tip.However, the restaurant released a statement defending their decision.Mason Jar Café co-owner Jayme Cousins wrote to News 8 that labor laws prohibited management from providing the full details of the server’s dismissal, but added, “I can say it was not affiliated with the tip she received.”Still, social media is divided. Many community members are speaking out against Mason Jar Cafe, vouching for Boyd and demanding "justice."But some are defending the restaurants position.One Facebook user, Carissa Adams commented, "I feel like there is more to the story. Don’t get me wrong! I was reading the comments while eating fictional popcorn but I feel like there’s more to it. Usually the one yelling the loudest has something to cover."Money Can Change People — Don’t Let It Change YouWhile we may never know what really went down behind closed doors, if Linsey Boyd had really been on the chopping block prior to receiving her big tip, then she got an amazing "nest egg" to tide her over until the next gig.If the rumors are true, and Boyd was unlawfully terminated over drama related to tip-gate, then maybe it's a blessing in disguise she'd no longer be subject to a toxic workplace?Sometimes all we can do it chalk it up to "everything happens for a reason." We can only hope the wide coverage of her story will result in a job offer from an even better employer!Until then, let us remember that while it's definitely not news that money can change people, let's all swear if any of us are lucky enough to get an extra 10K in our pockets, we won't let it change us!More from Goalcast:

Chef Bans Rich Diners for Disrespecting Server in a Scathing Email - And Gives Her the Entire $1200 Bill
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Chef Bans Rich Diners for Disrespecting Server in a Scathing Email - And Gives Her the Entire $1200 Bill

Anyone who has ever worked in the service industry knows how challenging it can be. Because, people.And while most people give service workers the respect they undoubtedly deserve, there are always the entitled few who think that money trumps basic human decency.Tired of toxic customers mistreating his staff, one chef decided to take a stand. And all we can say is, "BRAVO."Chef Roasts Rude Customers in Epic TweetAfter witnessing a group of six entitled businessmen repeatedly disrespect his employee Lily, Lee Skeet, who works as a chef at Cora, in Cardiff, U.K., knew he couldn't just stand idly by.Despite the fact that the group had just racked up the largest bill in the restaurant's history, Skeet was so appalled by their behavior that he wrote the head of the party a scathing email, banning them for life. And then he tweeted about it (or more accurately, X'd about it).Captioning a screenshot of his salty smackdown, Skeet, who famously trained under Gordon Ramsey, wrote, "I’m not clout chasing or looking for likes. I just think we should start calling out rich people who think they can treat people like crap."In the letter attached, Skeet first thanks the unnamed diner for choosing his restaurant. Then he goes in for the kill."Dear xxxxxxx, I wanted to firstly thank you for choosing my restaurant for your meal tonight, and I understand you had the biggest bill we've ever had on one table here. Unfortunately throughout the evening, I was made aware that your party's behavior was inappropriate towards Lily, who runs front-of-house," the email read."She has told me that as a 22-year-old-girl she was talked down to, disrespected, and touched unwantedly by members of your group."In an interview with Wales Online, Lily shared that she was reduced to tears after being humiliated and degraded for three hours while serving the party a seven-course meal.Skeet goes on to explain that as the dad of a daughter, he was absolutely heartbroken for Lily and the emotional toll it took on her. "I have spent the last hour having conversations with her that break my heart, make me feel like a s**t employer and a terrible dad having my own daughter," Skeet wrote.What the Chef Decided to Do NextOriginally, Skeet planned to just refund the group their hefty $1200 bill, minus a $100 tip for Lily — a tip they initially failed to give her. Because demeaning her wasn't enough apparently, they then added salt to the wound and didn't even bother to leave her a tip. He concluded the email, "I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant. Lily means a lot more to me than money. I also think you should assess the people you surround yourself with."However, hours later, Skeet had a change of heart. He decided to hit the patron where it hurts — right in his wallet.He tweeted again, saying:"On reflection I reacted too quickly and emotionally last night. Sorry I was a little bit angry and protective. I’m not going to refund the customer’s money. I’ve instead kept it and transferred to lily x."And if you're currently questioning if your own work environment is toxic, this just set a whole new bar on what a healthy workplace looks like. Having Money Doesn’t Excuse You From Being a Decent Human BeingNot surprisingly, the X-verse applauded Skeet for having Lily's back and creating a workplace that values and protects its employees. His posts received over 150,000 likes and more than 2,000 people chimed in. One commenter wrote, "Your response to the trouble makers is excellent. Putting morals above money is a brave and admirable thing to do. I hope Lily is ok. Much respect to you."Another wrote, "So happy to see an employer stand up so fiercely and unwaveringly for a member of their team. I do hope they had the good grace and respect to do as you asked. I hope Lily is okay after that dreadful experience and if I’m ever in Cardiff I will most definitely come to Cora."A third commenter said, "Absolutely spot on. Workers are not the plaything of the idle rich, to abuse and insult as they want. Money doesn’t buy manners and humility…it’s how you’re brought up and the values installed in you. Top man."Skeet's bold stance against the mistreatment of his staff is admirable. Calling out toxic behavior and standing up for others when we see injustice or mistreatment is crucial to ensuring a positive work environment. Everyone, no matter what position you hold, is entitled to respect, fair treatment, and dignity. These are, after all, basic human rights. More from Goalcast:Boss Is Hesitant When Deaf Employee Asks to Become the Chef – Little Did He Know How Customers Would View HimAnxious Deaf Couple Tries a Popular Restaurant – Realizes the Chef Has Learnt Sign Language Just for ThemTeen Refuses to Go to His Graduation Because His Parents Can’t Make It – But His Manager Has a Different Idea

78-Year-Old Waffle House Customer Makes a Simple Request to the Waitress - What She Does Next Is Caught on Camera
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78-Year-Old Waffle House Customer Makes a Simple Request to the Waitress - What She Does Next Is Caught on Camera

18-year-old Evoni Williams of La Marque, Texas spent all her free time working at Waffle House, hoping to stack up enough money for higher education. A tough task for sure, however she wasn't the only person with a lot on her plate. A Friend in Need78-year-old patron Adrian Charpentier, who uses an oxygen task, said he was having trouble using his hands to cut the ham on his plate. Williams, who goes by the nickname 'Nini', told KHOU that she didn't hesitate to help. He was like, "'My hands are not functioning too well.' He needed me to cut his food and I did," Williams shared. She stopped everything to cut Charpentier's meal into bite size bits. EavesdroppedPhoto by Wendy WeiUnbeknownst to Williams, customer Laura Wolf was sitting nearby and watched the whole sweet scene unfold. "It was so busy in here and she actually took the time to stop and hear what he had to say instead of walking past him. That just meant something to me," she said.She snapped a picture of the kind act and shared it on Facebook. "If we could all be like this waitress & take time to offer a helping hand ..." read the caption. Word of the post quickly made its way to Charpentier. "Somebody told me a few days later that I was very popular because they got me on Facebook," he recalled.The post went viral with close to 50,000 shares. Yet no one could have imagined what happened next. A Sizzling SurpriseLights, cameras and media descended on the restaurant to both thank and surprise the star of the hour, Evoni Williams. Williams was presented with a $16,000 scholarship to Texas Southern University, plenty to cover the tuition she'd worked so hard to earn. That wasn't all. Her kind act was immortalized, as the City of La Marque declared March 8 "Evoni 'Nini' Williams Day."A teary Williams was blown away."I didn’t think it was going to go big. But I thank you all. It’s just something I would do any other day," she said.Giving Selflessly Pays OffWolf wrote that Williams's seemingly small gesture actually makes a massive impact. I'm thankful to have seen this act of kindness and caring at the start of my day while everything in this world seems so negative.Laura Wolf"If we could all be like this waitress and take time to offer a helping hand."How many times have we been caught up thinking, searching for a way we can help others but can't find the right cause, the right time, the right place? I'd love to do something someday, we say to ourselves. From helping someone at the diner, holding the door or even flashing a smile to a passerby, there are opportunities to help everywhere. If stories like Evoni Williams prove anything, it's to never underestimate the impact of even the simplest acts of kindness both on that person and those who might be watching.More from Goalcast:8-Year-Old Finds Out His Favorite Waffle House Waiter Is Hiding a Secret – Doesn’t Hesitate to Raise $64,000 for HimWaffle House Customer Notices His Favorite Waitress Has Missed Work – Is Shocked to Find Out Her Hidden Secret

Waitress Hands Exhausted Firefighters a Note After Paying for Their Meal - Little Did She Know What Was Going to Happen
Uplifting News

Waitress Hands Exhausted Firefighters a Note After Paying for Their Meal - Little Did She Know What Was Going to Happen

Many of us try to pay it forward in life and don’t necessarily expect anything in return. So when a person goes out of their way to help you out after you’ve done a good deed for them, it can be downright heartwarming.Showing AppreciationA 24-year-old server named Liz Woodward found herself in a very similar situation back in 2015. At the time, she was working as a server at 130 Diner in Delran, New Jersey. According to Today, it was about 5:30 in the morning when Tim Young and Paul Hullings asked her for the biggest cup of coffee the diner had.“I had been following the New Brunswick fire on the news," Woodward told the publication. “This was their first meal in over 24 hours; the least I could do was buy it for them for all they do every day.”So that’s exactly what Woodward did - rather than bring a bill with a dollar amount on it, the server wrote a sweet note thanking the guys for the tough job they did each and every day.Your breakfast is on me today. Thank you for all that you do; for serving others & for running into the places everyone else runs away from. No matter your role, you are courageous, brave, and strong...Thank you for being bold and badass every day! Fueled by fire and driven by courage - what an example you are. Get some rest.Liz Woodward's noteThe guys teared up and thanked her before they left, and Woodward figured that was that.Going Viral Young and Hullings were so touched that they began urging their family, friends, and co-workers to eat at the diner as well. They decided to try and find Woodward on Facebook in order to do something special for her. And that’s when they discovered that Woodward was facing some tough times of her own: She had been trying to raise money for her quadriplegic father, as the family needed a wheelchair-accessible van. Immediately, they decided to help.“Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help..." Young wrote in a Facebook post, sharing the GoFundMe campaign that Woodward had started.The post - and story - quickly went viral. It appeared on ABC News, Today, BuzzFeed, and by September 2015, Ellen DeGeneres had invited Woodward and the firefighters onto her daytime talk show so they could share their story there too. In addition to providing the firefighters with free meals at the diner for the next five years, the host also presented Woodward with an oversized cheque - to the tune of $20,000.Soon, people everywhere started sharing the post, and the fund more than surpassed its original $17,000 goal. In the end, Woodward and her family collected $86,500 from touched, good citizens.The firefighters even met Woodward’s dad, and brought him Phillies tickets.Changing Her LifeFive years prior to that fateful meal at the diner, Woodward’s father, Steve Woodward, had suffered a ruptured brain aneurism, followed by two strokes. As a result, he had become completely reliant on help in order to survive.“As of right now, he will more than likely never walk again (but nothing is impossible!) and he has an extremely limited range of motion,” his daughter originally shared on the GoFundMe page. “He is entirely dependent on a caregiver and cannot feed, bathe, or change himself. He has had to re-learn how to swallow, how to speak and communicate- even how to process thoughts and think.”The family had been struggling to keep up with the bills, but saw what a difference getting out and about made in the patriarch, which is why they focused on raising money for the van. As it turns out, Woodward’s good deed had also inspired the owner of a specialty car company called Mobility Ventures. They donated a brand new MV-1 to the family so that the crew could put their funds towards helping to pay their mounting bills instead.“It's not a car, it's not a van, it's not a truck.. It's an MV-1! (Or a tank, as we like to call it!) It's freedom. It's hope on wheels. It's a life for my parents and for our family and it is an absolute DREAM COME TRUE!” Woodward later shared on " target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook.Paying It ForwardOne of the reasons Woodward’s story resonated with so many people is that even though she and her family were in need, it didn’t stop her from showing her appreciation to two random firefighters through a kind act. The two of them shared my hand-drawn helmet and words and then my family’s story, and the rest of the world has since paid it forward by BEING KIND. By having their ‘faith in humanity restored.’ Please know- good people are EVERYWHERE. If you can’t find one, BE ONE.Liz WoodwardIt’s a reminder we could all use, whether that means paying for the person behind you at the drive through, donating items that you would typically sell to someone in need, or even just being generous with your time. It can all make a big difference in someone else’s life, plus helping others just inherently feels good.More from Goalcast:Waitress’ Gut Feeling Saves 11-Year-Old Boy Who Was Deprived Of Food For YearsWaitress Was Fired After Receiving A $4,400 Tip – Community Steps In With Best ResponseKindness Lasts Forever“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” - Princess Diana