The Two Dollar Tip

This past Saturday, I worked a double shift at the restaurant I work at part time. I haven't pulled off a double shift ever since I trained about a year ago. But with New York coming up and more debt piling up on the bane of my existence of a credit card, I thought "Oh, why not." The day started off on a rough patch because I made it late by 15 minutes. 15 minutes late at the restaurant means a 15% tip deduction because we all pool tips. Unfair at its best, but the servers I worked with made it less than it should've been because I pulled my weight throughout the shift. A blessing in disguise for the lunch shift was that we only had 3 servers, when we usually have 6-7 on weekends. You can imagine the rush. Despite being busy and not having a chance to chill and just breathe, the shift itself pulled in really great tips since it was only split among 3 of us. Definitely worth it. Okay, so usually around 4:30-5 pm, I get excited because I can go home and spend the rest of the day hanging out to just enjoy my weekend. But of course, with the double shift, it felt like a marathon of a day. For dinner, we pulled straws to see who got what section. Of course, I ended up getting one of the busiest sections of the restaurant (right next to the hostess desk, which means there is the most turnover tables). Oh well - as long as I didn't have the party room, I was fine. Funny thing I noticed about our restaurant (and perhaps many others too) is that we tend to get a lot of "rushes" where people flock in all at the same time. It'll hit you right in the face. So I got a rush towards the end of my shift and I was dashing around like a madwoman, barely providing quality service because I prioritized having all the food/drink orders to come out in a timely manner. One of my tables was a couple - an elderly couple who was sweet from the start. The husband, a caucasian gentleman, has obviously been there a couple of times beforehand because he knew exactly what to order for himself and his wife. The wife, who was either full or half-Korean, was one of the most classy and polite women I've met. She reminded me a lot of my aunt on my dad's side. Anywho, towards the end of their meal and after providing pretty BS service in my opinion, they completely threw me off with surprise by lingering the small talk conversation we were having. They asked me what nationality I was. After saying I was Korean, they were saying they could tell by my mannerisms. After being unsure how to take that, they said not to worry and to just take it as a compliment. The wife, Sheryl, said that I reminded her a lot of her third daughter (out of the 4 she has!). The couple said I had a carried a similar disposition as her by being "bright and sweet." A compliment is essentially just words - but the weight they carry is beyond description. Especially receiving one after a rough, long day of work. I told them they totally made my day and it was honestly such a pleasure to serve them. After handing me the check, they asked if we pooled tips. I said, unfortunately yes. Then they said they wanted to give me something extra for being so good to them - and after refusing profusely, they just shoved it into my hand. I couldn't force it back, so I took it with a smile and a thank you. It didn't matter if it would have been a million dollars or the two dollars they gave me - the pure THOUGHT of their generosity gave me the boost of happiness and motivation I needed to finish the shift strong. Out of all the people I have encountered throughout my work experience there, they have bumped up to my favorite table. They were just the most genuinely kind and appreciative people ever - and the two dollar tip went up and beyond its monetary worth. I will remember and savor that moment forever and remind myself that there are kind-hearted souls out there rather than taking the jaded road to cynicism. To end, from the personification of kindness itself, Mother Teresa says "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile."