A waitress handed a whopping $US4400 (NZD$6400) tip by a stranger has been fired - after her boss ordered her to share it with her colleagues. Photo / Instagram / Grant Wise
A waitress handed a whopping $US4400 (NZD$6400) tip by a stranger has been fired - after her boss ordered her to share it with her colleagues. Photo / Instagram / Grant Wise
A waitress who was gifted a whopping US$4400 (NZD$6400) tip by a stranger as been fired after her boss demanded she share it with her colleagues.
Real estate boss Grant Wise decided to give the large sum of money to waitress Ryan Brandt after he visited the Oven and Tap in Arkansas earlier this month.
He called the restaurant ahead of time to ask whether employees shared tips or not. He was told they do not.
After sitting down with a group of friends for a meal, he started dishing out $100 notes as part of an idea he coined up called the "$100 club" during the pandemic.
In total Brandt and another waitress were handed US$4400.
"Everyone at this table has contributed or tipped $US100 for you and for the other waitress who unfortunately had to go home because she's not feeling well.
"And then we put it out to our social media channels, and then we actually had a bit more money sent in, so we are tipping a total of $US4400 for you to split with the other girl who took care of us."
Brandt was left in tears after the announcements.
But soon after, Brandt said, restaurant managers told her she'd have to split the tip with all of her co-workers – something she claims hasn't happened in the three-and-a-half years she has worked there.
A waitress handed a whopping $US4400 (NZD$6400) tip by a stranger has been fired - after her boss ordered her to share it with her colleagues. Photo / Instagram / Grant Wise
The 33-year-old waitress told Fox 59 she was told she'd only get 20 per cent.
"I was told that I was going to be giving my cash over to my shift manager and I would be taking home 20 per cent."
She said she was "devastated" – as she'd planned to use the money to help pay off her student loans.
Just a few days later, Wise discovered Brandt had been fired for "violating" the restaurant's rules.
Wise said he tried to get in contact with the owner to "ensure that everything was going to be okay", but was unable to connect with her.
He then went back to Oven and Tap to get his money back and hand it to Brandt directly, outside the restaurant, he said.
But by December 7, Wise posted on social media, he had found out that Brandt was fired from her job.
"I'm so saddened to hear that the girl we tipped the other night at our $US100 Dinner Club has been fired from her job," he wrote on Facebook.
"I don't fully understand why this would happen to what seems like such a sweet and kind-hearted woman.
"Nonetheless, I'm committed to showing her that there are great people in the world that will do good when they can."
He later set up a GoFundMe for Brandt, and told followers: "I hope that we can help this girl stay on top, and not let something like this get her down."
Wise has since posted that Brandt has been offered a job at another restaurant and began working there on December 8.
In a statement to Fox 59, Oven and Tap officials said: "After dining, this large group of guests requested that their gratuity be given to two particular servers. We fully honoured their request.
"Out of respect for our highly valued team members, we do not discuss the details surrounding the termination of an employee."
