Tipping culture is a huge part of the hospitality industry in the US – it’s a major part of how staff earn a living wage.
And although it’s not actually mandatory to tip your server, it is expected from customers and diners. Basically, it’s an unspoken law.
The rule of thumb is pretty much tipping about 15 to 20 per cent on top of the bill, but if you’re really, really impressed, 25 per cent. You can expect to be chased up by staff if you don’t leave a tip.
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However, a very grateful waitress bagged a mega tip when she served a table of more than 40 business executives at Arksansas spot, Oven & Tap.
Ryan Brandt had taken over from her colleague who’d gone home from work sick. And despite the changeover in service, they certainly impressed their guests.
After dining, the busy table tipped a whopping $4,400 (£3,400) for the pair to split.
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In a video posted to Instagram in December 2021, Ryan stands up with the host of the dinner, Grant Wise, who explains they were hosting a ‘$100 dinner club’.
During this, each person tips $100 (£78) which is then given to their servers. She begins to cry as Grant continues to say that more money was also sent in via a request on their social media.
“So we are tipping a total of $4,400 for you to split with the other girl who took care of us. So this is for you, thank you.”
Ryan can be seen crying as she thanks the man who urges diners to ‘tip your waiters’.
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However, this heart-warming moment soon turned sour.
She revealed in an interview with KNWA news that she was told to give the cash to her shift manager and then she would only get to take home 20 per cent for herself.
Ryan also added that this was a weird request, as during her three-and-a-half years at the restaurant she’d never been asked to split her tips like that.
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As reported by Distractify, when Grant heard about this tip-split between all the staff, he asked for the money back. And then when he was reimbursed, he redelivered the cash to Ryan outside of the restaurant.
But as she re-entered Oven & Tap, she found out she had been sacked for taking the money. According to the young woman, the restaurant fired her because she supposedly violated the policy by telling Grant about the split.
Ryan told KNWA news that she needed this job to help paying her bills: “It was devastating. I borrowed a significant amount for student loans. Most of them were turned off because of the pandemic, but they’re turning back on in January and that’s a harsh reality.”
Oven & Tap provided a statement to the outlet: “After dining, this large group of guests requested that their gratuity be given to two particular servers. We fully honored their request. Out of respect for our highly valued team members, we do not discuss the details surrounding the termination of an employee."
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Grant also set up a GoFundMe to help Ryan when he found out she had been fired.
Topics: Food and Drink, Money, Social media, US News
Jess Battison