A Waitress from Arkansas Receives a $4,400 Tip But She Is Fired After The Manager Shares Her Tip To Others And The Customer Pays Her Back

When a waitress in Arkansas earned a $4,400 tip from the ‘$100 Dinner Club,’ it would have been the most beautiful day of her life. When the restaurant manager hinted that she could only get 20% of the tip and the rest would be distributed among all the other employees, Ryan Brandt, the waitress who received the hefty tip, had planned to use the money to pay off student loans. Brandt, on the other hand, was dismissed for breaking the restaurant’s tip policy and was forced to hand over the majority of the money.

Grant Wise, the owner of a local real estate company, hosted a dine-in get-together for members of the ‘$100 Dinner Club’ earlier this month at the Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas. Each member will contribute $100 to the tip jar.

Wise had called the restaurant the day before the event to confirm that the serving staff does not split tips. Wise told KNWA that waitress Ryan Brandt was pleased and in tears when he gave her with a $4,400 check to split the bill between her and another server who waited at their table.

When the restaurant managers learned that Brandt had received such a big amount of tips, they told her that she would have to part some of the money with the other employees. This was the first time she had ever done something like this in her three-and-a-half years at the establishment.

“I was told that I would be delivering my cash to my shift manager and would be taking home 20%,” Brandt told FOX 59, adding that she had never been asked to divide her tip before in her three and a half years at the restaurant.

Brandt, who is in her early 30s and is a Spanish student at the University of Arkansas, was meant to utilize the money to pay off her student loans until she was forced to hand over the enormous sum to her superiors.

After a few days, Brandt was fired from the restaurant for ‘violating’ the rules by informing Wise about the restaurant’s tip policy.

Grant Wise, who runs a local real estate company, established the ‘$100 Dinner Club,’ which ate at the Oven and Tap and gave a $100 tip for each member.

She burst into tears as he told Ryan Brandt she’d be getting a $4,400 tip to share with another waiter.

Brandt, right, said she planned to use the money to pay off her student loans, but restaurant management informed her she had to split it with all of the staff, which she had never done before.

Wise discovered that many restaurant waiters were struggling and were badly affected by COVID-related problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide lockdown. As a result, he devised the concept of the ‘$100 Dinner Club.’ When he sponsored a real estate conference in Arkansas, he chose the Oven and Tap Restaurant as the location because it is his and his wife’s favorite dine-in restaurant.

Wise and his wife followed ahead with their plan after getting confirmation from the restaurant personnel that they did not have a policy against tip splitting.

He told 5 News that he chose the Oven and Tap because it was one of his and his wife’s favorite restaurants. “We heard waiters were impacted hard by COVID, and it was something that a friend had come up with to help give back,” he said.

“I’m sorry for interrupting everyone’s supper, but this will only take 60 seconds,” Wise says at the start of the video. He wraps his arm around Brandt and nods to some individuals behind the video, saying, “We have a table full of incredibly fantastic folks from all over the country who have flown here, and tonight we’re hosting a $100 Dinner Club.”

“Everyone at this table has given or tipped $100 for you and the other waitress, who had to go home due to illness.” We then shared it on social media, and we received a little extra money, so we’re tipping a total of $4,400 for you to split with the other girl who looked after us.”

On December 10, a wonderful moment was shared on Instagram and you can see it here.

When Wise discovered that the restaurant administrators had forced Brandt to split her gratuity among all the other employees, the sweet moment quickly turned into devastation, and she was dismissed shortly after. He left the restaurant owner SMS messages but was unable to speak with her.

When he returned to the Oven and Tap restaurant to get his money and personally hand it over to Brandt, he learned she had been sacked. On December 7, he took to social media to discuss the situation.

He said on Facebook, “I’m really heartbroken to hear that the girl we tipped the other night at our $100 Dinner Club has been dismissed.” “I’m not sure why this happened to what appears to be such a sweet and kind-hearted individual.

Nonetheless, I’m determined to show her that there are good people in the world who will help others when they have the opportunity.”

On YouTube, he produced a second video with the same message, in which he claimed that he would set up a GoFundMe page for the waitress.

“I hope we can assist this girl in staying on top and not allowing something like this to bring her down,” he said. “I don’t entirely comprehend it… But I want to do whatever I can to assist.”

“After dinner, this large group of diners requested that their tip be paid to two specific servers,” Oven and Tap authorities told FOX 59. We complied with their demands completely. We do not reveal the specifics behind an employee’s departure out of respect for our highly valued team members.”

Wise said on the GoFundMe page, “My only desire is to help her get through this experience with the least amount of stress and anxiety possible and onto whatever her next chance may be.”

Wise recently updated his social media profiles, stating that Brandt had been offered a new job at another restaurant and had started working on December 8.

After the GoFundMe website had raised $8,700, Grant Wise decided to close it down.