Customer Tips US Restaurant Staff $10,000 On His $32.43 Bill, Here's Why

Mark also shared the reason for his five-figure tip.

A customer at a Michigan restaurant surprised employees by leaving a $10,000 tip on his $32.43 bill. The staff at the Mason Jar Cafe were amazed to learn the reason behind the generous gift.

Typically, employees will see tips ranging from 15% to 25%, but every now and then, a customer will leave a much larger tip. “Typically, every now and then we'll see $100 [tips]said Tim Sweeney, manager of the Mason Jar Cafe in Benton Harbor The hill. “But never anything of this gratitude or magnitude.”

Recently, a customer named Mark left a $10,000 tip on his $32.43 bill, for a gratuity equivalent to about 30,835%.

Sweeney said he was “absolutely appalled at first” before confirming the amount with the customer. “We went back and forth. I had a conversation with him. He wanted to move on.” [The waitress] “He was in shock.”

Mark also shared the reason for his five-figure tip.

“It was in memory of a friend who had recently passed away and was in town for the funeral,” said waitress Paige Mollick, who was also working that day. “It was just a really kind act that touched a lot of people.”

The money was split nine ways between the co-workers, with each receiving just over $1,100 each. Mollick, who recently graduated from Western Michigan University, said she plans to put her portion toward student loans.

“(I will) turn that down as much as I can,” she laughed, adding that there were “a lot of amazing women working that day, a lot of hard-working mothers… who deserved it.”

“Every dollar counts on a job like this,” Mollick continued. “We work hard. We know that some days you'll make more and some days you'll make less. That's just part of the way things are. But we fight hard and I think a lot of people deserve it.”

Sweeney shared that the employees were completely touched by the gesture.

“Anytime you can reach out and change someone's life — whether it's a small act or a big one — it's very important to keep that at the forefront, and keep that in mind. A little goes a long way. In this situation, a lot goes a long way.” “A long way.”

When asked how long it takes a restaurant like his to generate $10,000 in tips alone, Sweeney laughed.

“Many, many, many months,” he said.