Waiter Receives $1,000 Tip and Instructions to 'Pay It Forward' From Customer
A waiter was just doing his job at a wine and bar restaurant in Albany, N.Y. when a customer truly surprised him by leaving a $1,000 tip. The diner also included instructions for the waiter to "pay it forward," which he did as soon as possible.
Michael Shafts was working at The Ginger Man, a restaurant in Albany, last week when a customer came in to celebrate his birthday with his wife. The couple ate and brought their own bottle of wine to accompany their meal.
"He told me it was a 47-year-old bottle of Amarone and that he was celebrating his 47th birthday," manager Julie Byron told ABC News. "I wished him a happy birthday, then it was back to business as usual and I went to chat with a regular outside."
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The couple finished their meal and left the restaurant in a limousine. Byron escorted them out, and when she returned, she found Shafts staring wide-eyed at her. He then pulled out the receipt with the $1,000 tip written out.
"Pay it forward. My birthday present to me!" the diner wrote on the receipt.
"I did a double-take," Byron said. "Everybody was very excited. It's thrilling and it's especially unusual for something like that to happen in the capitol district."
Shafts and Byron spoke fervently about how he would "pay it forward," and less than one week later, everyone found out how he chose to do so.
"When he returned to work on Saturday night, he had envelopes of money for all the staff, both front-of-house and back-of-house that had been working with him on Wednesday night. When all was said and done, he divvied up more than half," Byron said.
Unexpected large tips are becoming somewhat of a surprising trend in the U.S., with do-gooders wanting to brighten someone's day or simply have a bit of fun in surprising someone. Byron said the tip went to a well-deserving young man who then turned around and shared the wealth with his colleagues.
"He's a very hardworking young man. I always tell him that he's my favorite," Byron said. "He's honestly a great guy and it couldn't have happened to a better person."
