Teen cashier left 'speechless' after customer leaves him $2500 tip for his 'good attitude'

A pizza parlor employee was left "speechless" when a customer tipped him an astonishing $2,500. Ryheem Lumpkins, a student at William Chrisman High School, works at Pizza Ranch in Independence, Missouri, despite having underdeveloped hands and arms. According to CBS affiliate KCTV, Lumpkins handles the cash register, cleans floors, and maintains the buffet. His hard work clearly impressed customer Robert Samay. "I appreciate your hard work, your good smile, your good attitude," Samay told him. "We don’t see that much anymore, especially with young people." Last month, Samay gave Lumpkins a $5 tip—but this time, he returned with a life-changing gift.

“I never had nothing in my life that had happened to me like that before,” Lumpkins admitted. “To be honest, I was speechless." For Lumpkins, who wants to buy his first car, the gesture is really special, and it touched his heart. “That right there showed me that there are more people in the world that really care for me,” he said.

He wants to become a motivational speaker for kids all over. “Embrace what you have different from other people,” he said. “Because a lot of people think it’s cool and a lot of people wouldn’t think it’s cool. The negative words, don’t let it get to your head. Because there is a lot of positivity in the world."

Speaking of his arms, Lumpkins said: “I don’t describe it as a condition. God made me like this for a reason. I’m a regular person. I don’t think of it as a disability. It don’t prevent me from nothing. If I feel like I can do it, I can do it. Don’t ever hide it."

"Money comes and goes,” Samay said. “It’s rare to find someone like Ryheem.”

In another story of customers showing unexpected kindness to the staff, a woman left a special note for the waitress. One Twitter user shared a heartfelt moment that she experienced during work. Megan King, at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, was serving her customers as she usually would. One of them, however, was an older woman who had been through devastating loss and King made her feel more at ease. 

While speaking to Tyla, King explained what the note read: "Thank you very much for your kind service. This was my first time eating out alone since my husband passed. I was hoping I could get through it." King was moved by this note as anyone would be.

"As soon as I read that she'd lost her husband, I lost it. I had to use the restroom to get myself together enough to tend to my other tables even though I really didn't have time to take a rest," she said. She even shared a picture of herself with a big smile even as tears were running down her face and captioned it "in pain." She added, "This is my real smile because I am very happy and that note did not break my heart at all."

This article originally appeared on 6.5.23.