A waitress at an Arkansas restaurant was fired after receiving a generous $4,400 tip from a group of business executives.
In today’s complex tipping culture, it seems there’s no way to win.
You risk criticism for not tipping, appear cheap if you give a small amount, and now, even a generous tip can lead to dire consequences.
This story took place at the Oven & Tap restaurant in Arkansas in 2021.
Waitress Ryan Brandt faced an unexpected fallout after receiving a staggering $4,400 tip from a table of business executives.
A generous customer gave a waitress $4,4K tip over her good service
Brandt’s exceptional service to a group of over 40 executives earned her a remarkable tip.
The moment was recorded by attendee Rebecca Soto.
She shared a heartwarming video on Instagram, expressing her gratitude for being part of such a generous act.
“I’m humbled to have been part of something so beautiful and generous. To bless someone else without previously knowing them.”
She continued: “I have been blessed, so it is wonderful to pay it forward and bless someone else.
“God bless all who contributed and the servers who received it. I pray it may be multiplied and impact their life for the better.”
In the viral clip, businessman Grant Wise explained to Brandt that everyone at the table had contributed $100.
They also raised additional funds through social media, culminating in an impressive total.
“Everybody at this table has contributed or tipped $100 for you, and for the other waitress, who unfortunately had to go home because she wasn’t feeling well,” he told the waitress.
“And then we put it out to our social media channels, and we actually had quite a bit more money sent in.
So we are tipping you a total of $4,400 for you to split with the other girl that took care of us.”
Waitress fired by restaurant after receiving generous $4,4K tip from businessman
However, this moment of joy was short-lived.
Soon after receiving the tip, Brandt was told to give it to the shift manager and keep only 20%.
“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 said.
After over three years at Oven & Tap, Brandt was surprised, as she had never been told to share tips.
Once Wise learned of Brandt’s situation, he requested the tip back, according to reports from Distractify.
He returned the money to Brandt outside the restaurant, ensuring she would keep every cent.
Unfortunately, upon re-entering the establishment, Brandt discovered she had been fired, a claim that Oven & Tap denies.
The waitress expressed a devastated reaction after the incident
Brandt expressed her devastation, noting the financial strain of resuming student loan payments after the pandemic.
“It was devastating,” she said, highlighting the harsh reality of her circumstances.
“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.”
The restaurant responded to the incident
Oven & Tap’s owners, Mollie Mullis and Luke Wetzel, issued a statement emphasizing their respect for tipping practices.
They stated that while customers have the right to tip freely, tip-sharing policies are in place.
“Oven & Tap doesn’t deliver terminations lightly. Because we value our employees and highly respect their privacy, we never discuss personnel issues.
The server who was terminated several days after the group dined with us was not let go because she chose to keep the tip money.
The other two servers who received generous tips that evening from the Witly organization – including one who also received $2,200 – are still members of our team.”
“Oven & Tap has always been committed to providing fair and quality compensation to all members of our restaurant team.
We recognize and regret that a recent incident in our restaurant could have been handled differently by reminding our team how we would be splitting any tips prior to the event, however, our policy has always been to participate in a tip pool/share with the staff.
Tip sharing is a common restaurant industry practice that we follow to ensure all of our team members are adequately compensated for their hard work.”