Originally published at: A diner in New Hampshire spent $37.93 on bar food, then left a $16,000 tip | Boing Boing
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Honestly when I fantasize about being a billionaire this is the sort of thing I dream of doing. The best I can do is sneak a $20 into the Starbucks tip jar when they’re not looking.
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Yeah, being able to do things like this is probably the best justification for winning a big lottery prize.
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I’m glad this is not one of those “misplaced decimal point” stories. 
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These are truly heartwarming stories but at the same time food, service and retail workers should be compensated better to begin with. That said i also fantasize that maybe one day i wish i could do something like this.
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Just think, if this happened at a random restaurant every single day, the combined effect on service-industry wages would be… well, roughly zero, but society at large would feel deliriously good about itself.
That’s the thing with generosity. It’s nice that (a minority of people occasionally) do it, but it requires grotesque inequality to even exist in the first place. If we invest too much in hero fantasies, we end up rooting for terrorism and overturned school buses.
Supporting unions and strikes and a livable minimum wage will never get you called a hero, but it would do more actual good.
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Makes me wonder how this is dealt with in terms of money laundering. This one seams legit, but in a cash business, I would assume that large tips would raise flags if they happened very often.
It’s sad I have to say this: But I hope those employees who got a cut of this are real careful about accounting for taxes!
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I feel the same way every time there’s a story about some wealthy person giving a commencement address at their alma mater and announcing that they’re paying off the student loans of all that year’s graduates. It’s great, but it does squat for the underlying problem of why tf college is so expensive that we’re creating an entire generation of indentured servants. Voluntary philanthropy is a terribly inefficient method of dealing with the costs of a functioning society.
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A $16K cash tip would be the way to do it.
And now I realize the tipper did it for the frequent flyer miles
I don’t know how many employees there are, but looking at their pictures it seems sizable enough that taxes won’t be much of an issue.
I wonder if the mysterious benefactor ordered a bunch of their “Lay down and shut up” shots before he left the tip. Maybe a few “Leg Spreaders” too. Classy joint.
They decided to also share it with the workers in the kitchen.
I know not everywhere does this, but they should.
Mind you, I grew up somewhere with a minimum wage, so it’s less of an issue.
Fully agreed that a more heart-warming event would be if servers didn’t need tips to survive.
Here in Australia, “minimum wage” depends what job you do. For example, part-time food service staff at “Intro” level of experience earn $19.84 / h [1]. Tips are praise given if the food and service were outstanding.
That only happened because of unions.
From the Australian government website on the subject [2]:
[1] 1 Australian dollar = approx 0.70 USD, so $19.84 AU = $13.98 US
[2] https://www.fairwork.gov.au/find-help-for/fast-food-restaurants-cafes/restaurant-cafes-industry
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@manybellsdown @stefanjones @Grey_Devil
A tip from a friend (pun intended) is to leave $5 under the pillow of any establishment you stay at for the cleaning staff. It’s a hard job and this will be around a 25% bump to their wage. It is probably the most anonymous thing you can do but placing it under the pillow before you leave shows this as a true gratuity, a thank you.
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I wish I had the money to do stuff like this. I would do it all the time.
Why under the pillow?
I leave a room tip, generally right on top of the television. Sometimes housekeepers leave a little “thank you and let us know if there’s a problem” form with their name; I put the tip right under that.
ADDENDUM: I’m dating myself. You really can’t leave anything on a hotel room TV anymore. Goddamn flatscreens!
So, a dresser or other elevated spot.
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Just so it targets the cleaner only and not other room attendants
That’s gotta be frustrating rock stars when aiming for the pool!
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Yeah, I usually just add a note: “For Housekeeping, thank you!” to make it clear that I didn’t just accidentally leave money behind.
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