Waitress SACKED after receiving $6000 tip
After receiving a hefty tip of $USD 4400 ($NZD 6400), a US waitress has been fired after the restaurant she worked for demanded she share it with the rest of the staff.
Ryan Brandt was one of two employees serving a party of more than 40 people at the Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The pair received the tip through a “$100 Dinner Club” organised by Grant Wise, the owner of a local real estate company, where each person dining would contribute a $100 tip ($NZD 139).
Wise, who came up with the idea during the COVID-19 pandemic, told KNWA that he called the restaurant ahead of their booking to confirm that servers don’t share tips.
He said the gesture was meant to be “an effort to bless the servers who waited on our party that night”.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt everyone’s dinner, this will only take 60 seconds,” Wise said in footage shared on Instagram.
“We have a table full of absolutely amazing people from all over the country who have travelled here, and tonight we’re hosting a $US100 Dinner Club.
“Everyone at this table has contributed or tipped $US100 for you and for the other waitress who unfortunately had to go home because she’s not feeling well.
“And then we put it out to our social media channels, and then we actually had a bit more money sent in, so we are tipping a total of $USD 4400 for you to split with the other girl who took care of us.”
Brandt was visibly in tears after Wise’s announcement.
Image: @likegrantwise (Instagram)
But, the huge act of kindness quickly went sour.
“I was told that I was going to be giving my cash over to my shift manager, and I would be taking home 20 percent,” Brandt explained.
She said that sharing tips has never happened during the three-and-a-half years she has worked at the restaurant.
With plans to use the funds to help pay off her student loans, Brandt said she was “devastated” after being told she would take home a fraction of the total amount.
Wise said the intention of his tip wasn’t for it to be shared with those who didn’t serve his party. After asking the restaurant to return the tip, he gave Brandt the cash outside instead.
However, Brandt said she was soon fired from her job and placed in a financially precarious situation.
“It was devastating,” Brandt said.
“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.”
Just a few days later, the Arkansas businessman discovered that Brandt had been fired for “violating” the restaurant’s rules.
“I’m so saddened to hear that the girl we tipped the other night at our $100 Dinner Club has been fired from her job,” Wise later wrote on Instagram.
“I don’t understand why this would happen to what seems like such a sweet and kind-hearted woman. Nevertheless, I’m committed to showing her that there are great people in the world that will do good when they can!”
Wise announced that he had set up a GoFundMe for Brandt, telling followers: “I hope that we can help this girl stay on top, and not let something like this get her down.”
Just two days after starting the fundraiser, Wise shut it down after it exceeded $USD 8700 ($NZD 12,800) in donations.
“Thank you all so much for showing Ryan the love and support you have,” he wrote in an update. “We will be closing down the campaign since we’ve exceeded the goal here.
Wise also shared that Brandt had been offered a new job at another local restaurant, and began working there the night before.
Image: GoFundMe