Customer raises funds for UberEats driver who wanted to gift fiancee 'the wedding dress she deserved'

Delivery driving is challenging in many ways. The hours are long and the wages are minimal. But a lot of delivery drivers take it up as their main or side hustle because they do not have many choices in terms of employment. Similarly, Paul ​Slobodzian joined Uber Eats as a delivery driver to make some extra cash. Getting tips from the customers boosts their incomes, so a hopeful Slobodzian decided to leave a unique note for one of the customers when they ordered food. But he had a special reason behind asking for some tip, even leaving his Venmo account details on the note.

The customer, Erica Hernandez–who goes by @erica_cristal on TikTok, shared this heartwarming slideshow post on the platform. In the first slide, she showed her audience the food she had ordered from Chipotle. The overlay text mentioned that the delivery guy had put something special alongside their food order. In the second slide, there was a handwritten note from Slobodzian, revealing the reason behind him taking up the delivery driver job.

"Thank you for your order!" the note began. "I'm driving for [name of company] on the side to give my fiancee the wedding she deserves. Any additional tip through the app or Venmo is greatly appreciated." Hernandez added through the overlay texts that though she didn't have a lot of followers, she hoped for the post to reach the right audience. The post definitely became popular within a short span and garnered over 33 million views and more than 5 million likes.

The comment section applauded Hernandez's generous gesture and commended her for helping out Slobodzian. @mirnix777 wrote, "They invited her to the wedding! This is probably the cutest thing to happen on the internet." @baylayyy commented, "See, this is how you do it. My DoorDash driver told me she was pregnant and wasn't getting out of her car and I could come get it. I was also 34 weeks pregnant." @twinadriz added, "I am sure you had zero idea this would blow up and you just changed someone's life! That has to be so rewarding that money doesn't buy! You're a great soul queen!"

Fox 10 Pheonix reached out to Hernandez to comment on this incident. "I just felt really inspired to post it and see if my friends would be willing to donate or if any followers that I had on there would donate," she told the outlet. Slobodzian also shared his side of the story, revealing that within a week of Hernandez posting his note on TikTok, he received enough funds to organize his wedding in September 2024. "I never set out to leave those notes with the intention of somebody making a video about it or even trying to broadcast it to anybody besides the person I was delivering to," he clarified.

Slobodzian's fiancee, Aly Perkins, added that they really didn't expect anything coming out of this little idea involving the notes to strangers. "The fact that a stranger got our note and felt so compelled to post it on the internet and advocate for two strangers is unbelievable," Perkins mentioned. Slobodzian also started his own TikTok page (@paulslobo711) and continued to update people about his upcoming wedding and the donations he had received so far. 

In one video, he thanked everyone who sent him money to help organize his dreamy wedding. While adding a second video, he shared how Chipotle Mexican Grill also donated him $500. Slobodzian also revealed his fiancee's face in his latest video and shared a message that Chipotle had sent him on Instagram. "We are honored that we could be a small part of such a special moment for you and your future wife," the message read. The fast food chain also extended their offer to serve at their wedding in some capacity. 

You can follow Paul ​Slobodzian (@paulslobo711) on TikTok for more videos on his life. Also, you can follow Erica Hernandez (@erica_cristal) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.