A Pennsylvania restaurant is taking a customer to court after his lavish tip turned into an apparent scam.
In June, customer Eric Smith left a $3,000 tip on his $13 bill at Alfredo’s Pizza in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The staff was floored when Smith’s credit card charge went through. They gushed over his kindness in the local news, while Smith attributed the tip to a social media movement called “Tips for Jesus.”
But the story took a dark turn when months later, Smith reclaimed the funds.
In the U.S., where food service workers overwhelmingly rely on tips for survival, exceedingly generous tippers tend to create a bright spot in the news. In May, Rhode Island waitress Jennifer Vernancio was bowled over when a pair of loyal patrons tipped her $810 for a $48 meal. In 2021, a customer at a Nebraska bakery left a $2,000 tip to support the small business. And in 2020, an Ohio restaurant received a $5,600 tip to be divided among 28 staff members.
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The average tip for “perfect service” in the U.S. is 20 percent, but that average can fall as low as 6 percent when patrons perceive a restaurant server as “rude,” according to a 2017 survey from Discover. Although many servers live off their tips, 70 percent of those surveyed said they have previously received zero compensation for…
