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Uplifting News

Waitress Blessed With $1,200 Tip

There are many mixed opinions when it comes to tipping. But the reality is that many servers rely on tips to make a decent living, working hard to ensure customer satisfaction with each and every meal.But even the best of servers don’t expect their patrons to go above and beyond like this group of diners did one day in Georgia.The Holiday Time Uplifting Story James Deal / FacebookIt was December, and Janet Ballard was working the lunch shift at Cracker Barrel. She had been at the chain for more than a decade, so it was business as usual for the server when a group of 12 came in to eat. It was not, however, a routine meal for the patrons who came in that day.You see, the group had come into the eatery with the intention of spreading generosity. They were a bunch of church-going friends who wanted to lift someone up ahead of the holidays, and they had hatched a plan.In what James Deal described in a Facebook post as the “1st Annual 100 dollar breakfast,” each of the 12 diners left Ballard a $100 tip at the end of the meal. In total, they pooled together $1,200 and put it in a card for their server.“I read the card, and it had scriptures on it, which let me know they were good people,” Ballard told Today. “They were very genuine individuals. They were total strangers.”The Surprise of a Lifetime Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash Ballard was shocked as she counted the money and was choked up by the time she reached $400. She couldn’t believe that these strangers had been so generous, and she grew more and more emotional as someone filmed her. “I don’t really like to cry with a camera in my face, but I didn’t even care at this point,” she recalled. “I had 12 total strangers saying, ‘Hey, we care enough about you because of how you made us feel while we were dining and we want to be a blessing to you and your family.'”According to Ballard, the money was an answer to her prayers. She had needed help paying her taxes and was stressed out about her car payment. With this money, she was able to pay down both.Paying It Forward Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash Deal and the rest of the group wanted to share their moment of giving in order to inspire others to do the same. That’s why they posted it on Facebook, where many weighed in on how nice it was to see such generosity, especially so close to the holidays. But social media users weren’t the only ones who were inspired.Ballard was so touched that she decided to use some of the money to help uplift others as well. After work, she went out for lunch and “blessed” her server with a large tip. Then she treated herself to a pedicure and gave the manicurist a large tip before the appointment began.“Because of the gift of love and caring and sharing I’m able to not only be a better Janet, but I am able to be an example for people this time of year who don’t have hope,” she added to Today.It's That Time of Year - Do the Unexpected! Photo by Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra on Unsplash Sometimes it’s just nice to see good people receive nice things, especially when it comes as a surprise. That’s one reason this story went viral and why so many people have responded to it. It’s an inspiring tale that reminds us to try and do something nice and unexpected for others in our own walks of life.It can be something small, like shoveling snow for a neighbor or baking someone you love a treat. Or it can be a larger, more organized thing, like a group of friends pooling extra money together for a life-changing gift to a stranger.Whatever you decide to do to uplift someone else, there’s no time like the present. With the holidays here, there are plenty of people out there who could use a little boost of joy.More from Goalcast:Shaq Visits His Favorite Restaurant With an Unusual Request – Then, He Shocks the Watchful Owner With a SurpriseExhausted Dad of 4 Doesn’t Notice a Stranger Watching Him Closely at Work – Is Shocked When He Finds This Note on a Bill Teen Waitress Loses Both Parents—Then She Gets a Surprise Tip That Changes Her Life

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

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
Uplifting News

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