A man is being sued by a pizza restaurant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after he left a $3,000 tip in June and, months later, decided to ask for it back.
The man who left the tip, Eric Smith, previously made headlines after leaving a $3,000 tip on a measly $13 meal. The generous incident quickly went viral.
According to The Mirror, Smith was apparently joining in on a social media trend called “Tips for Jesus.”
“It really meant a lot to me because everyone’s going through stuff. It really touched my heart. I still can’t believe it. I’m still in shock,” Mariana Lambert, the waitress who received the tip, said at the time.
However, Alfedro’s Pizza Cafe, which is known for their appearance in “The Office,” is now suing Smith after the restaurant was asked to return the money three months later.
Smith, who used his credit card to pay for the meal and tip, had apparently changed his mind.
Zachary Jacobson, the manager at Alfredo’s, told WNEP-TV that they “received something in the mail that Eric was disputing the charge for the tip that he left.”
Jacobson said he initially thought that it was just a misunderstanding and reached out to Smith through Facebook. Smith responded to his first couple of messages but later stopped, Jacobson said.
He added that, what initially began as a blessing, is now causing “a lot of nonsense and drama.”
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“We thought somebody was actually trying to do a good thing. And then now we are, what, three months later? Not even, and there’s nothing. There’s nothing to show for it at this point,” Jacobson said. “It’s just a little aggravating right now. It’s been causing a lot of nonsense and drama. Unfortunately, we had to file charges through the magistrate’s office because now we’re just out of this money at this point. And he told us to sue him, so that’s what we’re going to end up doing, I guess.”
While Lambert will be able to keep the $3,000 tip, the restaurant will be the one footing the bill.
Alfredo’s has filed charges against Smith, hoping to recoup that money.
Jacobson added that he hopes Smith “owns up to his actions and comes forth and does pay this because you shouldn’t have done this if this was the end result.”
Tipping has been a debatable subject for some time now, as it begins to expand past traditional restaurants. As KHOU noted, “Even non-food-related places are getting in on the act, with customers reporting places like movie theaters suggesting a tip.”
“Tipping fatigue is hitting consumers as requests for gratuities increase and spread to new businesses amid the rise of automated payment machines and preset tip suggestions”. #service #tipping https://t.co/abLYVhZZ6i
— Hani Roustom (@HaniRoustom) September 19, 2022
In other news, a Domino’s customer is currently facing backlash online after refusing to tip on a $95 order. Newsweek reported that the man is questioning why he ought to pay an additional tip since he already paid for the delivery fee.
Surprisingly, the issue is a common one. Many people argue that it’s a company’s job to pay their workers and not the customers. People are also questioning if they even need to tip if no one is waiting on them.
