A Texas waitress says she was thrilled to receive a $2,000 tip on a bill — only to find out from the restaurant that she won’t take home a single cent.
Emily Bauer had only been a server for about two weeks when she was scheduled for a busy Sunday shift at Red Hook Seafood and Bar in San Antonio, news station KVUE reported.
While working all the tables, she kept apologizing to a man seated in her section for “being slow.”
“He was just like, ‘I understand.’ He also mentioned he owned restaurants, so he knew how hard it was to be a server,” Bauer said.
“He was like, ‘Just cancel everything. Cancel everything and give me the ticket.’ So, I said okay. I gave him the ticket.”
Bauer said she didn’t notice until he left that he had given her a $2,000 tip and wrote a note that said, “Merry Christmas! Keep working hard!”
“I was like, wait. I just opened it and started crying. I was like, ‘Oh my God! My kids! I’m going to spend it all on my kids,’” said Bauer, who has two sons, a 2-year-old and a 5-month-old.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God. I’ve never had a Christmas where I’ve been able to like splurge on them.’”
But she said her excitement was quickly dashed when the restaurant told her it can’t process a tip larger than $500.
