Generous restaurant guest: two hotdogs, a beer and a €13,500 tip

A tip is usually ten percent; sometimes guests give a little more if they’re very satisfied. But €13,500? You bet—that’s what one man paid for his hotdogs, cola and tequila. A $40 bill, followed by a $16,000 tip. ‘We double-checked that it was really what he intended, and yes, he genuinely wanted to give that much.’

The generous guest dined at Stumble Inn Bar & Grill, a restaurant in Londonderry, New Hampshire, in the United States. He was sitting comfortably outside at the bar, enjoying his beer, a cola and two hotdogs. One more tequila and the bill—and there it was: a $16,000 tip, equivalent to approximately €13,500. Let that credit card purr! ‘Don’t spend it all at once,’ the man told owner Mark Zarella, who happened to be behind the bar that evening.

Not a joke?

Very strange. What are you supposed to do with that? The staff spoke to the man to make sure he hadn’t misplaced a comma or was playing a joke. Nope, this was exactly what he intended. The owner waited a little while to see whether the money would actually be transferred. And yes, a few days later it appeared in the account.

And then what? In America, it isn’t customary for kitchen staff to share in the tip pool. Their salaries are generally higher, while front-of-house staff supplement their modest wages with tips. But in this case, the employees decided to share the money among themselves anyway. Eight bartenders and four kitchen employees—that meant everyone took well over a thousand euros in tips home last weekend.

Regular customer

The guest has since become a regular at the bar. Owner Zarella asked him why he had given such a generous tip. ‘I thanked him and asked: are you sure? Because we feel uncomfortable about such a large amount.’ But he didn’t hesitate and didn’t want his tip back. He said: ‘I want them to have that money.’

Read also:

• 8 tips for being a good restaurant guest again soon
• 12 things that drive Starbucks baristas completely crazy
• What expats and tourists think of Dutch service

Source: De Telegraaf