If you're wearing of hearing about all the mean things people write on restaurant bills and the obnoxious behavior behind and in front of the counter, here's a sweet story that gives us hope. A customer left his bartender a $1000 tip -- because of a dog in need of surgery. And when you hear the whole story you may want to hug them both (and maybe the dog, too). It all started when the customer noticed a paw print tattoo on the bartender Christina Summit's arm.
It turns out, Summit is passionate about animals. When she's not working one of her three jobs, she's volunteering for a rescue center in Ridgewood, New Jersey. But the creature who's closest to her heart is her rescue dog, Tucker, a 3-year-old Great Dane-Labrador mix who needed surgery after swallowing a tennis ball. The hospital bills amounted to $2,700.
Summit was just being friendly, telling her story to the customer and his wife. "It was just your average bartender and customer talk," she later told the New York Post. But then they paid their bill and left that $1000 tip. Summit says she felt "shock, complete shock." She says she started shaking and lost her breath. "How could there be three zeros in there?" And then she tried to return the tip.
"Sir, there's no way I can take this." There was no way the man was going to take the tip back, either. He said the tip was to help pay for the dog's bills, and then he thanked the bartender for the work she does for animals. She, in turn, was so overwhelmed by his generosity, she bought another couple breakfast.
Best of all, Tucker is home now, recovering well from his surgery.
Can you believe how sweet that is? After all bartenders do, lending an ear to their customers, and Summit especially with her animal rescue work -- it's so heartening to hear someone expressing their appreciation for that. You have to think when people give back that way it helps make that restaurant a warmer, happier place. And you see the effect it had -- Summit was not only able to saver her dog, she also paid it forward by treating another couple to breakfast. Maybe we're getting a little more compassionate and civilized -- do you think?
What do you think moves people to leave extra-large tips like this?
Image via Marnie Joyce/Flickr