A 20-year old waitress from Canada was shocked and moved to tears last Saturday when a customer left her a $1,000 tip for a dinner that cost $87.15, ABC News reported.
Jennifer Peitsch is a waitress at Mongo's Grill in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was working an unusually busy shift, which meant longer waits for customers and added anxiety for the waitress. A table with a woman and three teenagers was seated in Peitsch's section of the restaurant, and she told CBC News that the customers were patient and kind as she rushed to fill orders and bring out food.
"Everything was taking a little longer, and I was really anxious and stressed out," Peitsch told ABC News. "This woman told me she used to be a waitress and she understood how I was feeling."
Peitsch said she works part time as a waitress from 5 to 10:30 p.m. to "have enough money to pay the bills." She works full time at a grocery store from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. She wasn't even supposed to be at the restaurant Saturday night but filled in for a co-worker, CBC News reported.
When she saw the receipt come out with the huge tip, Peitsch assumed it was an error.
"I thought it was a mistake, but she assured me it was the right amount, and I just started crying and thanking her so much," Peitsch told ABC News.
Peitsch before hugging the customer, CBC News reported. But she forgot to ask for the woman's name.
Peitsch said she used the $1,000 to fully pay off a credit card debt, and with that off her mind, she's excited about saving money to go to college.
Peitsch did not discover the name of the woman who tipped her, but thanks to a Facebook post she wrote about the incident, it helped her find the mystery diner: a woman named Lisa Julia Holgate.
"She asked me why I did this, and I said I was a good person, and I figured that she was a good person and she's working hard and she deserves it," Holgate told ABC News. "I just said, 'Pay it forward.'"
Holgate said Mongo's is her favorite restaurant, and as a former waitress she knew Peitsch was under a lot of stress.
"It's hard work. I understand it fully," said Holgate, who works as a funeral director.
She figured she would tip $100, but when it came time to fill in the numbers she thought she'd add one more zero.
"I am just ecstatic. I am so happy that I could do such a good thing for somebody like that," Holgate said.
"Now that I have that [credit card] taken care of I can finally put money aside and get my future going," Peitsch said.
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