Waiting tables can be a thankless job. For every kind customer who tips over 20%, there's a customer who kicks up a fuss about something entirely beyond your control. Whether you're a waitress at a burger chain or at a fancy restaurant known for its luscious food porn, it's the same story. But once in a very, very blue moon, you'll hear about a server who was left hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, on a small breakfast bill. It's like winning the serving lottery. One lucky waitress was tipped $2,000 on a $93 bill. That's a 2150% tip!
As someone who waited tables for four years, my goal was to ~one day~ get a 100% tip. I was successful once, but it was mainly because a manager yelled at me in front of a table, and the couple felt so uncomfortably bad for my 18-year-old self that they left me a $40 tip on a $40 check. But barring that ridiculously unprofessional encounter, I was a solid 20% waitress.
Back to the waitress with a far more magical life: She works at Blue 44 in Chevy Chase, Maryland and the customer—who (like a really friendly Lord Voldemort) asked not to be named—is a regular. He indicated that $1,000 should go to the chef, James Turner, $500 should go to his server, Laura Dally, and $500 should go the the owner, Chris Nardelli.
Before all this played out, Blue 44's chef e-mailed the customer to ask when he'd be in next because he wanted to be sure he had the customer's favorite gumbo ready for him. (When he finally came in, they gave him the gumbo on the house.)
Chris Nardelli told NBC Washington , “We gave them a couple quarts of gumbo on the house after their meal, but never expected anything like this.”
On his receipt, the customer wrote, "Thanks for the gumbo!" When Nardelli emailed the customer to thank him for the extremely generous tip and the customer said he'd left it because he was proud to be a customer.
Guys, love and happiness and generosity still exist, at least in Maryland. Or maybe that gumbo was spiked. Anyone's guess.
Here's the official receipt, break down and note included:
It's a receipt to melt your heart, believe in the goodness of this world, and make you crave gumbo.
