Waitress Says She Was Fired After Diners Left Her $2,200 Tip

A waitress says she's been fired after she was tipped $2,200 (£1,660) at the restaurant she worked at.

Ryan Brandt, who worked at Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas, was waiting on a party of over 40 people on 10 December.

When they were paying the bill, every diner left $100 (£75) to Brandt and another server working with her.

FOX24

According to one of the diners, the second waiter went home sick but they still expected the employee to receive their $2,200 tip.

Grant Wise, who owns a real estate company, said he called the restaurant prior to their arrival to check the tipping policy and was told that the money would go directly to the staff members waiting on the table.

So when Brandt received the money, Wise said: "It was an incredible thing to do and to see her reaction was awesome, to see what it meant to her, the impact that it's had on her life already."

However, things soon took a turn when the eatery asked her to share the tip with all of the staff, something Brandt says hasn't happened in three and a half years of her working there.

FOX24

Brandt claims she was told that she had to hand over the cash to the shift manager and she would receive 20 percent of it.

In response to this, Wise requested that the gratuity be returned to him so that he could give it straight to the server outside.

Afterwards, Brandt says she was sacked, telling US media: "It was devastating, I borrowed a significant amount for student loans. Most of them were turned off because of the pandemic but they’re turning back on in January and that’s a harsh reality."

The waiter claims she was told to leave because she violated policy by telling Wise about pooling the tips.

Alamy

In a statement given to KNWA, Over and Tap said: "After dining, this large group of guests requested that their gratuity be given to two particular servers. We fully honored their request.

"Out of respect for our highly valued team members, we do not discuss the details surrounding the termination of an employee."

LADbible has contacted Oven and Tap for a comment.

Topics: News, US News, Food And Drink

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a thing long before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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