Customer makes new server at his favorite restaurant cry on her first day, but for unexpected reason

There has been a lot of debate about the 'tipping culture,' especially in America. Now, while some servers irritate customers with outrageous tip demands, a few stories remind us that it's never a bad idea to reward hardworking servers. A customer (u/stoneoftheicemen) from Kansas, USA, eating out at their favorite restaurant, made the 'new' server cry on her first day with their tip. But guess what? The customer wasn't held accountable for her tears; instead, they were hailed as a hero for an unexpected reason. They shared the story on Reddit on November 6. So far, the post has received 1.5k upvotes online.

The customer had gone out with their son to their favorite sit-down restaurant. It was their go-to place, as they visited the eatery at least once a week. That day, there was a new server, a young girl whom they didn't recognize. It was her first day, and she struggled to take their order. In fact, she asked the customer to slow down a bit while giving the food order so she could take it without any mistakes. "In all fairness, we always order the same things, so I was probably rattling it off too fast. Other than a slow start, she did an amazing job," they recalled. The server was really trying hard to give the customers a good experience. "[She] kept our drinks filled, brought extra napkins (he can make a mess like you can’t imagine), etc.," the customer wrote.

While leaving the diner, they cleared the bill in cash and asked the server to keep the change as a tip. "Our meals were about 18 bucks, and I gave her 30," the customer revealed. They said it was higher than people usually tip, but their son often creates a bigger mess than a standard customer, so it was only fair for the server. The waitress heard the customer's words and immediately started crying. "I asked if she was ok, and she said I made her night and that no one had tipped her in FOUR hours," the customer recalled. 

Moving on, they shared how they explained to the server not to think poorly of herself just because people didn't tip. "I told her, 'Sometimes people tip badly not because you aren’t a good server, but because they aren’t good people,'" the customer said. Serving isn't an easy job. But it is often looked down on by customers. A survey by Snagajob-Black Box Intelligence found that servers report uncivil behavior by customers more often than not. They found that over three-fifths of restaurant employees suffer emotional abuse or disrespect from customers, and almost half have endured it from managers. 

Meanwhile, people loved the customer's gesture and praised them for going above and beyond to make the server feel better. For instance, u/persephone_j commented, "That was a true kindness. I remember when I first started as a server how clumsy and flustered I was. She will probably think really fondly of your good deed!" u/presentationok168 wrote, "As a server of 8+ years, trust me, I've been there. Your KINDNESS made her night. It probably made her feel like she wasn’t just constantly screwing up."

u/wrong_buyer_1079 recalled, "That was awesome. I had a new waiter once. He was absolutely incompetent. But he tried SO hard. He really did, and he was friendly and apologized whenever he screwed up. My wife and I still laugh about him. But like I said, he was really trying hard. I gave him $20 on a $50 bill. He looked at me funny and thanked me a LOT. We told him we enjoyed everything and understood what it was like to be new. I hope he's doing great somewhere else now." u/leather-meal-8434 wrote, "Four hours without a single tip on her first night is heartbreaking. That's not just bad luck; that's people actively choosing to stiff a new server who's clearly trying her best. You treated her with basic decency and tipped fairly. The fact that it brought her to tears shows how rough that shift was for her. Sometimes just being a good person stands out because so many others aren't. The industry needs more customers like this."

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