A Winnipeg restaurant server thought one of her customers was out to lunch when she received a life-changing $1,000 tip on Saturday.
Jennifer Peitsch choked back tears of joy as she asked if the woman鈥檚 extravagant gratuity on an $87.15 meal at Mongo鈥檚 Grill was indeed real.
鈥淚 started crying,鈥� she told 麻豆影视 Channel. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楢re you sure that I can have this tip? If you want it back I can give it back to you.鈥欌��
Peitsch says she works two jobs to get by. Her day, she says, often starts at 5:30 a.m. to make a 45-minute commute to a grocery store for a nine-hour shift. That鈥檚 followed by an hour鈥檚 drive to Mongo鈥檚, where she puts in another 5.5 hours.
鈥淚t's exhausting and not enough. Bills are high, credit card's full. (I) haven't even saved up so I can finally go to post-secondary school. Debt is miserable and stressful,鈥� she wrote in a Facebook post about the encounter.
As luck would have it, Peitsch wasn鈥檛 supposed to be working that evening. She agreed to fill in for a co-worker in a different section.
Patrons were lined up at the door for a table in the packed restaurant that night, she recalls. She was relying on other staff to help her deal with a backlog of orders and feeling nervous about making a mistake.
Meanwhile, a woman, who she identified in the post as Lisa Julia Holgate, and three teenagers patiently enjoyed a meal.
鈥淭he woman could see I was busy and anxious (about) getting everything done on time, yet (she) tried to be kind and friendly. When she was ready for payment, we made friendly small talk,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭hey were all were very understanding.鈥�
After an emotional discussion about if the tip was real, Holgate asked Peitsch to pay if forward if she has the opportunity. Peitsch was so flustered that she forgot to get her name. She was anxious to share the impact of the random act of kindness.
鈥淚 have a credit card that I actually paid off completely. Now I can just start saving up for school,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow I can actually save up for something bigger.鈥�
