Iowa Couple’s Generosity Goes Viral

Despite a dining experience that “sucked,” Makenzie and Steve Schultz of Cedar Rapids decided to leave their server a 150 percent tip on their $66.65 bill instead of the typical 15 or 20 percent. Makenzie wrote on the receipt, “We’ve both been in your shoes. Paying it forward.”

Just how bad was the mean? According to Makenzie, it “took 20 minutes to get water, 40 minutes for an appetizer and over and hour for an entrée.” But the Schultzes looked around and noticed that there was only one server waiting on 12 tables while doubling as the bartender at the same time.

Both of the Schultzes have had similar nights in the past. The couple met when they were both servers at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at the Mall of America in Minnesota. They understand that it’s not always the server that is at fault; sometimes the kitchen messes up or someone calls in sick for their shift without finding a replacement, but guests still pin the blame on their server by leaving terrible tips or no tip at all.

“Steven and I agreed it would feel good to make this guy’s night when he would probably be getting minimal to no tips to slow service,” she wrote in a post on her personal Facebook account accompanied by a photo of the receipt for the bill.

Since Saturday night when the photo was posted, it has received over 1.2 million likes and thousands of comments. Of the several positive comments on the post, many reference people’s own experiences with waiting tables or bartending and the time they too received a good tip from a generous customer.

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