I can still remember the feeling of being a fresh teen and thinking I knew it all. Teenage years are that extreme learning curve between childhood and adulthood – making mistakes is simply a rite of passage during this time. Although this isn’t unique, what is unique is when teens make a mistake and have the maturity and humility to own up to it. And that’s the root of the story I’m going to share with you all today.
Just recently, a group of young teens came in to eat at a Los Angeles restaurant prior to heading to their homecoming dance. They were excited to be eating at a restaurant with friends and not their parents, and even more excited for the dance later in the night. Their server knew how special of a night this was for the teens, and went above and beyond to make their dining experience amazing. And so, he was dismayed when the teens paid their bills and only left him a $3.28 tip.
If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant before, you’ll know how hard of a job it is. Servers make a very minimal hourly wage and rely predominantly on tips to pay their bills. The server was obviously upset and questioned why the teens would leave such a deplorable tip, especially with the wonderful service they received. However, he soon forgot about the incident and went on with his normal routine. Until he received this note a week later:
The note reads:
“About a week and a half ago, on October 7, my three friends and I came to eat at this restaurant as our own homecoming celebration. It was an exciting experience for us to be here alone, and it was all new to us. And you were the best waiter we could ask for. You were kind, helpful, accommodating, didn’t treat us like babies, and were even able to fit the food to all my allergies! So I wanted to say thank you for making our ‘grown-up’ experience so amazing and fun.
I would also like to say sorry on behalf of my group. Since we were new to all of this, our 13-year-old minds didn’t exactly know how to deal with the bill. You were super helpful in dividing the checkup and taking our not-so-preferable cash. The bill was reasonable, but we had completely forgotten (and frankly didn’t know) what a tip even was, let alone how much to give. So we emptied our pockets, and all our money added up to $3.28.
Not aware of how small this really was, we left, clueless of what we had left you for all your hard work. Later, we realized our mistake and felt horrible. We knew we had to make it right.
So in this envelope, you will find the correct 18% tip + extra for simply being amazing. We appreciate your help and patience and thank you for making our night fun. Thank you!”
I love that the teens were able to recognize their mistake, admit to their naivety in that situation, and make it right with their hardworking server. Let us all use this as a lesson in righting our wrongs, no matter of our age!
