On April 21, a waitress at HutHot Mongolian Grill in Spanish Fork was asked a question that would change her immediate life drastically.
“What was your largest tip,” the customer asked?
The waitress who has asked to be anonymous told the customer that her largest tip was $50, and then proceeded to ask why the question was asked.
“I jokingly told the customer that it would be great (if he had the ability to give a large tip) because I could use the money,” she said. “I wouldn’t normally talk to a table that way but he asked me why I needed the money and I explained that my husband had just gotten deployed to Japan and his phone got water damaged, and I couldn’t communicate with him unless he was at his computer, which would always be when I would be in bed.”
But that wasn’t all.
The couple is expecting their first child in July, and the waitress had just started working at the restaurant to help make ends meet.
When the waitress returned to the table to pick up the signed receipt, she saw an $800 tip had been added to the tab.
“I was so surprised, and I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I felt like crying, and I still had tables so I was trying to keep myself together. I didn’t know if I would even be able to cash out the tips. So I talked to the owner because she was there and she was like, ‘Yeah, you should be able to cash out the tip.’ I went home that night with the money and I told my husband and he was mind blown. We were able to get him on the phone in a couple of days and start communicating again.”
Restaurant owner Mary Holloran who recently took over ownership, posted about the experience on community social media pages in an effort to show goodness that is still very much in the world.
“I just wanted to share an example of the generosity of spirit in our community,” Holloran said. “I’m absolutely astounded at the response! I truly just wanted to share a heart-warming story that we experienced in the restaurant. I’m delighted that so many others were touched as well.”
The couple has been married for just over a year, and the waitress’ husband will be deployed for six months, returning this coming October. She said how grateful she is for the kindness of the man who has allowed her to stay connected to her husband.
On behalf of the community, Serve Daily thanks all the wonderful people in this story for their examples of service. We also challenge you, our readers, to find small or large ways to Serve Daily, those around you.
