Unsplash/Blake Wisz
A waitress at a café in Pennsylvania says a man ordered a stromboli for about $13 but left a $3,000 tip as part of the “Tips for Jesus” movement, which began about nine years ago.
Mariana Lambert, who works as a waitress at Alfredo’s Pizza Café in Scranton, spoke to the media last week, recounting how she experienced the generosity.
He said he relies on tips for a living and was surprised and pleased to see a customer leave him a $3,000 tip last month.
“It really meant a lot to me because everyone is going through things. It really touched my heart. I still can’t believe it. I’m still in shock,” Lambert said, according to WNEP, which identified the generous man as Eric Smith, who “is from out of the area but travels to different places, leaving tips like the one he left for Mariana as part of the network. Social. media trend called ‘Tips for Jesus’”.
Lambert said he would now also tip a little extra when he goes out to eat.
“I know how it feels when you walk in, and even if you can get a little more. It really means a lot,” she was quoted as saying.
He added that he could also use the money to pay some bills and possibly take a vacation with his family.
In 2015, Clint Spotleson, who worked as a bartender at a restaurant called Crudo in Phoenix, Arizona, received a combined tip of $11,000 on two separate bills totaling just over $419.
“The first one filled it up and left it on the table,” Spotleson said, according to The Arizona Republic. “Then he said, ‘You know, I’ll have another round.’ Then in the second one, he said, ‘Let’s have some fun with this one.’ And he said to his friend, ‘Put 10K on this one.’ And she said, ‘Okay.’
Spotleson said at the time that he split the tip with another bartender on duty, kitchen staff and a cocktail server and planned to use his portion to help fix his car.
The client is alleged to have been former PayPal vice president Jack Selby, who had a home in nearby Paradise Valley and was discovered the year before as the man who runs the popular Instagram account called Tips for Jesus.
Images of tips left by Selby, who is said to typically leave between 250% and 600% of the bill when dining out, are posted on the Instagram account. The account is followed by more than 75,000 people.
In 2017, The New York Post confirmed that Selby was behind the Instagram account. “Selby was seen at the Upper West Side bar Guyer’s, run by romance novel cover model Cindy Guyer, over the weekend ordering drinks for just over $100, but left a $5,000 tip.”
In 2014, a man, possibly Selby, spoke to San Francisco magazine but would not allow his name to be revealed.
It is not Christian generosity, he said.
“The movement we have started is intended to be agnostic,” he was quoted as saying. The magazine, however, does not explain what he meant by the word “agnostic.”
It all started in September 2013 at a bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after a college football game. The tipper, who was drinking his $1.90 coffee at the time of the interview, told the magazine. He said he and his friends had been tipping generously for a long time, but that afternoon they decided to leave a $3,000 tip on an $87.98 check and post a photo of the receipt on Instagram.
In just two months, he and his friends had given away $50,000 and the news had spread on the Internet.
The informant said that he wanted to emphasize the concept of “giving directly to ordinary people.” He was started to promote a kind of ad hoc charity culture for those who don’t like traditional philanthropy, although he has committed himself to the latter.
“It’s just about helping people,” he said. “It’s not hard to give back,” giving a little extra tip, paying for someone else’s drink, engaging in small acts of kindness, even if it’s at a level below the tens of thousands of dollars. When justified by great service, magnanimous rewards can be achieved by all, without excuses.”
Source: www.christianpost.com