Waffle House Waitress Picks Up Shift For Extra Cash, Man’s Tip Leaves Her ‘Sick’

A Tennessee waitress was shocked when she saw what was written on the tip line of a customer’s receipt.

Lauren Ball, a waitress at a Kingsport, Tennessee, Waffle House, was almost finished with her shift at around 4 a.m. when a customer walked in.

“I was ready to go home, I didn’t even want to wait on him but I was the only waitress working,” Ball told WJHL.

The 21-year-old had no clue, however, the turn her night was about to take.

Ball had just paid for her 2-year-old son’s birthday party and was getting ready to leave for vacation in Florida with her father, so money was a bit tight for her.

It was a Wednesday night and she thought that she might make $30, or even up to $60 if it was a good night.

Ball had a nice conversation with the two men she was serving and went outside to smoke a cigarette. While outside, one of the men came outside and told her that his friend was going to leave her a massive tip, but she didn’t believe him. When she went back inside, she was shocked by what the customer did.

According to the Kingsport Times-News, the man gave Ball a $600 tip. She was stunned.

“It took my breath away,” Ball said. “It made me sick to my stomach, but in a good way.”

After word of the tip spread around the restaurant, other employees tried to find out for themselves if it was real. The cook went outside to ask the man if he was serious and he said that he was.

Ball ran outside as the men were leaving and, in tears, gave him a big hug and thanked him for the incredibly generous tip. She had never met him prior to that night.

“I cried and told him he was an angel, and he would never know how much that meant to me,” she said.

The single mother asked why the man would do something like that for a stranger, “And he said I just like to do things for nice people,” according to Ball.

Ball said that she will not forget about the kind gesture from the stranger. She says that she hopes to one day be able to pay it forward and do something nice for a stranger herself.

Readers shared their thoughts on the story on Mad World News’ Facebook page.

“There are definitely angels all around us. Sometimes too few and far between. Bless him for his kindness to the woman. Amen,” one reader commented.

“What a nice gentleman, to leave such a big tip. Made my heart tear up a bit too. Just goes to prove not everyone is a jerk,” another user wrote.

Sources: Kingsport Times-News, WJHL, Mad World News/Facebook / Photo credit: rpavich/Flickr, Newsiosity, WJHL