After a waiter received no tip from homophobic customers despite giving 'good' service, a group of strangers banded together to raise $4,545 (£3,300) for them - handing it over as a tip just two days later.
A man called Eric Salzwedel, the co-founder of local nonprofit group Do Good Wisconsin, shared a photo of the original customer's bill on Facebook, saying it had been sent to him.
The piece of paper shows that the total bill came to $142.95 (£100), but that the customer had decided not to leave any gratuity - drawing a straight line where you would normally write the amount you wish to tip.
Advert
A note on the bill said: "Service was good but we don't tip sinfull [sic] homosexuals."
Salzwedel explained that it had happened at a restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin.
Rather than focusing on the hateful comments the customer had made, he decided to focus on making it right for the server, who went without a tip for that table due to nothing but homophobia.
Advert
"This came across my table this morning and upsets me greatly!" Salzwedel wrote.
"This just happened here in Madison at a local restaurant. Even though I probably will not know who wrote this and instead of writing a lot more about this person, here is what I want to do: BRING ON THE #VENMOCHALLENGE!
"I plan to go back into the restaurant, request this server and show them that this community and so many others do LOVE them with the biggest tip they have ever received! BUT I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Salzwedel shared his Venmo and PayPal details, encouraging people to fire over a virtual tip that could be pooled together for the waiter.
Advert
He added that if anyone knew the server, they should ideally not let them know as Do Good Wisconsin hoped to make it a 'surprise'.
One person commented: "Hate has no place here. Tip sent via PayPal!"
Another said: "Sent money via Venmo. Can't believe people are like this."
A third person wrote: "Done. I'll also be praying that they somehow find out how big of a tip their 'non-tip' generated for this man."
Advert
In the end, the good people of Wisconsin managed to raise a whopping $4,545 for the server - and, true to his word, Salzwedel turned up at the restaurant to surprise them with it.
Sharing an update on Facebook two days later, he said: "To the folks who felt it was necessary to write this hateful note and not tip... don't worry, me and about 250 others will cover the tip for you."
He shared a photo of the original bill and his bill side by side, this time with a huge sum written into the tip section.
Advert
His post has since gone viral, racking up 1,700 reactions and hundreds of shares and comments - in turn proving, as Salzwedel wrote in a hashtag, that #LoveTrumpsHate.
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Eric SalzwedelTopics: Viral, Restaurant, News, US News