Everyone has a different perspective on tipping one’s waiter, but there is no denying that it is an important part of American restaurant culture.
I was taught never to forget to tip a server. Although I don’t think employers should be able to get away with underpaying their employees and placing the blame on customers instead, that’s regrettably the way things are done. Many waiters and waitresses rely on tips for their livelihoods.
Regardless, I think we can all agree that the majority of servers merit the tips they receive. They devote 99 percent of their efforts to ensuring consumer happiness. Thus, any additional funds they generate should be theirs by law.
However, rumors have it that a server at the Oven & Tap in Arkansas was dismissed after getting a sizable gratuity from one table she was manning.
Credit: Instagram/@rebeccasoto_legacy
In 2021, Ryan Brandt was presented with a $4,400 gift from a table of corporate executives, leaving her stunned. But any happiness was short-lived when the Oven & Tap restaurant gave her the boot shortly after.
Rebecca Soto, one of the executives seated at the in-question table, posted a video of the event on Instagram. It shows Brandt being given a large sum of money for her efforts.
The touching video’s commentary reads, “I’m humbled to have been a part of something so lovely and wonderful. to bestow blessings on another without having met them first.
“I have been blessed, so paying it forward and blessing someone else is wonderful.”
“God bless all who contributed and the servers who received it. I pray it may be multiplied and impact their life for the better.”
Credit: Instagram/@rebeccasoto_legacy
The evening’s host, Grant Wise (seen above), is seen in the film handing the money to Ryan and saying, “Everyone at this table has given or tipped $100 for you, and for the other waitress, who regrettably had to go home because she wasn’t feeling well.
“And then we put it out to our social media channels and had quite a bit more money sent in. So we are tipping you $4,400 for you to split with the other girl that took care of us.”
Ryan thanked Grant and the table while sobbing joyfully, but there was a sting to the story that she hadn’t anticipated.
The server told KNWA News: “I was told that I would give my cash over to my shift manager, and I would be taking home 20 percent.”
She went on to say that she had worked at Oven & Tap for over three years and had never been instructed to turn in her tips.
Credit: Instagram/@rebeccasoto_legacy
Grant Wise quickly requested the money back after learning about the issue. In order to make sure his initial gift reached the proper folks, he gave it to Ryan once more outside the restaurant.
But when Ryan returned to her workplace, she was gone because of accepting the money.
“It was devastating,” she said.
“I borrowed a significant amount for student loans. Most of them were turned off because of the pandemic, but they’re turning back on in January, which is a harsh reality.”
Wise and his sympathetic coworkers launched Ryan’s GoFundMe page, which quickly accumulated $8,700.
In the meantime, Oven & Tap made a statement regarding the situation in which they insisted that they had “honored” Wise’s table’s request that the tips go to Ryan and her associate.
The restaurant reported that many customers asked for two specific servers to receive their tips after the meal.
“We granted their request in full. We won’t reveal the specifics of an employee’s termination out of respect for our cherished team members.
I don’t know about you, but if this institution tried to seize Ryan’s tip money, I think something strange would be going on.
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