Anyone who has ever worked in the service industry knows that getting good tips is the small difference between being able to comfortably pay your expenses or not, especially with many workers only being able to manage part-time hours.
Shikira was one such waitress, who was working at a Denny’s and when a tip of a lifetime showed up her way she knew that someone was looking out for her. Just as she was getting happy, someone else showed up and turned her world upside down and not in a good way!
Big Dreams And Loans
Shikira Edwards had spent the last three years of her life juggling work and school. She spent every cent which didn’t go towards her rent to paying off her growing student loans. She struggled every day, so she could give her and her family a better lifestyle.
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She was a dentistry student who had big plans for her life and anyone who knew Edwards knew that she would make them a reality, thanks to her hard work and determination but little did she know that her boss would be the one to stand in her way.
The Daily Grind
Shikira willed herself to put on her apron and tye her hair up every day for her shifts at Denny’s, it was all worth it to be bossed around and do menial tasks if only to have a debt-free future.
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A dream many Americans aspire to have and Edwards was close to achieving, all she had to do was put her head down and work hard. Of course, anyone working in the service industry knows that doing just that with difficult customers is the hardest part but poor Shikira had no idea that for her, it would be someone she never expected who would be her adversary.
Always Smiling
It all started when Shikira was serving a friendly couple. The husband and wife were being warm and chatty, a rare sighting since Shikira was more accustomed to grunts and nods. Just this small act of kindness from them lifted the waitresses spirits.
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Little did she know that will was just the start of their generosity, it seemed like the couple was so impressed by Shikira’s warm service that they decided to leave her a tip of a lifetime and just when she was about to celebrate, “he” stepped in!
What A Tip!
As she started to clean the table, she stopped in shock when she picked up the tip. Was her sleep deprivation finally taking a toll on her or did that tip actually say that the lady had just given her $4,000 check as a tip? Yes, her eyes weren’t deceiving her and were soon flooded by tears of gratitude.
With a single swipe, this generous couple had given her a serious leg-up in life. She composed herself first before happily walking to her manager to share the good news with him.
A Better Future
As she made her to way to her manager’s office, she had already formed a plan on how to use the money. She had resolved to pay a portion of her student loan and while still in need of cash, had decided to donate the rest to a non-profit geared toward helping adolescents with depression.
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Giddy and hopeful, her generous allocation of this tip only makes us think that no one else deserved such a tip more than Shikira. How many other people would use their own tip and that too when struggling with debt to help others? We can only think of one name.
Heartbreaker
When she recounted all that happened to her manager he was dumbfounded and stared at the check-in disbelief. His eyes seemed only focused over the large number on it and not on Shikira.
His mind was on overdrive and after a few minutes of awkward discussion, he carefully slid the check into his pocket. At first, Shikira thought he was kidding but when she laughed at him and asked for it back, he stated that the money would stay with him until she agreed to do him a favour.
A Single Condition
This day was turning out to be a rollercoaster, first the tip and now this. She witnessed her boss be demanding and overburdening but this was even a new low for him! Shikira was shocked for the second time in the day and this time, not for any good reason.
Instead of the joy, she felt earlier, it was now mixed with anger and dread. How could he give her such a bizarre and unprofessional condition, when that tip was given to her for her service? All of which was legally her right?
Online Research
Rather than hearing out what her manager was going to say, Shikira left! She needed time to comprehend what was happening. She went home and looked online for similar stories of waitresses being given huge tips.
Despite the turmoil she was facing, it cheered her spirits to know that so many hardworking waitresses had been lifted out of their dire situation by kind people who were generous with tips but nowhere did you ever find a manager withholding such tips.
Ready To Fight
Armed with knowledge, the next day Shikira went back to work with a plan. To put into perspective what this $4000 tip means, here is some information. On any given week, a waitress usually earns between $298 and $500. This meant that she made up nearly a month’s pay in less than an hour!
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She knew she had to fight for her right and risk conflict with her boss but there was still a huge part inside of her, which worried that maybe she was in the wrong and storming into her manager’s office would only make things worse!
The Request
Either way, Shikira knew she had to do something. So, she decided that confronting her manager was the only option but decided to remain level-headed. She hadn’t actually heard what his request was, to begin with.
And when she asked him to elaborate, Shikira was expected an unprofessional and base reply but what she heard a practical next step. Her manager wanted her to track down the kind lady from that morning and confirm if she had really meant to write that amount on the check.
Simple Enough
Confused and thrown off, Shikira knew that what her manager was saying made complete sense. She had never double-checked with the customers and would feel wrong to take their money.
So, she went about remembering anything she could which would help the search for the couple but, of course, it was rather hard since they weren’t restaurant regulars. Having spoken to them only a few times, tracking them down seemed impossible and with it receiving her $4000 tip.
Was There More to the Request?
While on the surface, the request seemed completely respectable, Shikira did wonder if this might just be a ploy for her manage to stow away the money for himself while he busied Shikira with a fruitless mission.
Her once life-changing news was turning sourer by the minute. Soon, all she could think about was her tip and the couple which gave it to her but her big eureka moment was yet to come which would finally solve this complicated matter.
Sharing Her Story
During her initial search on grand tips. Shikira had come across many articles which had gone viral and were read by millions. She decided that her story could only be helped by the internet and posted everything that happened on social media.
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This would allow her to cast a net wider than her circle and might just be able to track down that lady and her husband, who had given her this tip. For the first time since she had received the check, Shikira finally had a plan.
The Response
She wrote and shared her post with the world in the hopes of finding the kind soul who gave her that check. However, weeks passed, and no one came forward and with that Shikira’s hopes grew dimmer every day.
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However, unbeknownst to her, the post was gaining traction. While no one could locate her mystery tipper, many people were outraged at how the hardworking waitress was being treated by her manager.
Calling Out The Company
Many comments were directed towards Denny, which blamed the huge chain for creating policies which allowed the manager to withhold Shikira’s tip. Angered by her situation, many people spoke out on social media to the point that even news outlets began to take notice.
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Once the story reached local news, she was reached out for an interview. At first, she was hesitant to go on T.V but her friends reminded her that, maybe through this the couple who had left the tip might finally come forward.
Her Interview
Shikira started out by expressing how embarrassed she was to have to ask her customers to show up to prove their tip but Denny’s management had refused to allow her to accept it and implied it must have been a mistake that someone left such a huge amount as a tip to Shikira.
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If Denny’s thought that this interview would help their public image, they were proven wrong. Anyone who saw the hardworking Shikira, pleading to the couple to come forward was left annoying and angered at Denny’s for making this poor waitress jump through so many hoops for a tip of a lifetime.
No Legal Precedence
The main reason watchers were furious was that there was no rule, written or otherwise, saying that a waitress had to get the contact information of someone who tipped her, let alone be single-handily be responsible for tracking them down for approval!
The public outcry had reached deafening levels, and Denny’s as well as the person who was in charge of the management had to come out with a statement before the problem became out of control.
Explaining Themselves
Rather than apologies for their inconsiderate actions, the company doubled down. Stating that they would never withhold any sort of payment from their employees, but they had the responsibility to make sure their customers did not accidentally pay more than they had to.
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Shikira’s story had shown another crack in the service industry in the United States. Unlike any other industry, service workers are paid a “tipped minimum wage”. This means that companies are allowed to pay these worked, lower than the federal minimum wage, justifying this by stating that customers should cover the rest through tips.
The Result
Denny’s assumed that their statement would end the public rage but it only increased it and led them to invite Shikira to their headquarters, a meeting which was meant to calm the situation but only left a bad taste in Shikira’s mouth.
The chain restaurant advised her about the investigation results. They also said that they understood that the dedicated server was disappointed. Denny’s also published their response to the media.
Official Statement
The statement that Denny’s released read: “We conducted a thorough investigation into this matter and have discovered the tip in question was made in error.” It was a statement that broke Shikira’s heart into a million tiny pieces.
Denny’s went further to explain that the elderly couple who left the tip mistakenly gave the stratospheric amount of $4,451.61 instead of his intended $4 tip. This news understandably cracked Shikira’s heart.
A Not So Happy Ending
The restaurant’s spokesman, later on, said in a public interview that Denny’s was committed to both their customers and their staff and that they would present training to make sure that their staff was properly equipped when similar scenarios arise again in their establishments.
While the turn of events left Shakira shattered and frustrated, she knew that it would have been even worst if she had cashed in $4000 from the couple who clearly could not afford such a lavish tip and while the answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear, it all worked out in the end.
Credits:Graduatez